Work In Progress: Worm
by Qwolfs
Summary: Stuff that may or may not end up going anywhere. All adoptable, though i'd like a pm as heads up.
1. Put some Chitin in her Spine

Worm starcraft

ch1

They were going to kill children. No, this was unacceptable.

The group of 30 Azn Bad Boys had chosen the wrong night to go breaking the law. Lung would be a problem. Still if I went in quickly there would be little he could do to stop me.

Connecting to the swarm took less than a moment. Pulling more of the dog sized creatures to me would take a few seconds, so my entrances would need to be flashy and chaotic enough that their reaction would be disorganized. Plan in mind the operation was a go.

I leapt from the roof, my enhanced musculature cushioned my landing and a second later I had already passed half the group.

As they started to react, aiming guns in my direction I had passed the rest. With Lung directly in front of me only a few would dare shoot.

My Swarm was close enough now that they could be heard, only a few more seconds and the first few would be close enough to see.

I had more important things to do though, Lung was my target and I needed to take him out as soon as possible before he became tough enough that we could not hurt him faster than he regenerated. Anything but a pushover he reacted admirably and shot a quick jab. I did not doubt that with his enhanced strength even this would be damaging enough to buy him time. So I ducked underneath and was inside his guard. My hair-chitin, voluminous as it was, did not follow me fast enough and managed to get tangled around his fist. My movement was now severely limited. Thankfully I was both too focused to let the pain of it tearing at my scalp distract me and I was already close enough.

I forced as much strength as I could into my strike taking the momentum the charge had left me with and jammed my arm into his chest. The pain and shock of the attack startled Lung and gave me the moment I needed to plant my feet, grip what I was fairly sure was either his heart or a corner of his lung and tear it free.

His cry of agony only a few seconds after my appearance panicked some of the gangers.

At the same time, from both entrances into the alley, my 'dogs' tore in and attacked the rest.

A few managed to get a shot off while my swarm viciously tore them apart, splattering blood and viscera over the surroundings.

In front of me Lung collapsed. His regeneration was already at work. It would likely not be fast enough to save him. Still he had fought an Endbringer to a standstill, I would be cautious. Swiftly I knelt down beside him and used my right hand to grip his head and turned him to look me in the eyes. My right deposited the pulped remains of his heart on his chest. Tilting his head back a bit so I had a clear shot at his throat I speared my hand through the concave of his throat, up through the back and into the majority of his brain. I kept my hand in place to stop all possible regeneration, simultaneously directing the the rest of my swarm here as they finished off the last of the group.

When silence fell, the gunshots having stopped and the last of them was dead. I directed the ten of my still living dogs to take the body of Lung back to the lair and the evolution chamber. Perhaps there would be adaptations the swarm could benefit from.

The other five were directed to eat the remains of the gangers. Waste not want not, after all.

I walked off as I directed my attention back to the rest of my swarm that was patrolling the city now. Brockton Bay's genepool was in need of a serious trimming.

The fight had lasted two minutes from start to finish, five minutes later the bodies were gone and only the blood and remaining small viscera that wasn't worth eating remained.

Two minutes after that the undersiders arrived to find nothing. Tattletale was terrified. The rest only worried.

AN: Spoilers: Taylor as queen of the swarm. I was reading Worm fanfiction and eventually got severely annoyed with the bullshit no kill stance of most authors. So here Lung gets taken out more or less immediately, Emma, Maddison, and Shadowstalker either get killed with a shiv to the back or assimilated into the swarm depending on how high profile I want to make the kill and how OP the swarm would be. The next chapter would be a flashback to show how she built up the swarm and how the bitches three were dealt with.


	2. Put some Chitin in her Spine 1

Ch2

AN:SPOILERS: this story would be au at a fairly high level due to weird unexplainable bullshit when it comes to the entity's. The PtV cannot be completely infallible because the sheer size of something capable of simulating even the most minor of actions reliably (google completely solving chess for an example of absolutely trivial complexity, comparatively) would would outweigh any single entity by itself. The entities with their ability to travel through dimensions have already found a solution to entropy by the nature of their existence, travel to a dimension where entropy does not apply being one of the easiest methods of getting around the problem. The ability to time travel at all also negates entropy as you can simply go back to start when it becomes a problem ( this relies on the canon idea that the entities can in fact time travel but don't because they chose not to due to energy concerns, something they cannot in my story because it fucks up everything what with Eden not actually needing to be dead and scion just moping for no reason( sure timetravel takes energy but not being able to finish the cycle alone surely would take precedent!). So yeah, there will be a bit of au in the high level stuff but most everything else should stay fairly similar, with the exception of how the zerg come into existence.

QA:

The host's species was useful. This host has been chosen for her specifically. THE GREATER WHOLE had chosen well.

THE GREATER WHOLE had lost agency though.

Her purpose was to record useful data for the next cycle. Without THE GREATER WHOLE their would be no next cycle.

She had overseen many cycles. She had often directed THE GREATER WHOLE. She directed the disparate parts of THE WHOLE to serve with agency. She could not adequately fulfill her purpose without THE GREATER WHOLE.

Her host would need to bring THE WHOLE back together. This would be useful Data, this would fulfill her purpose.

She could not guide the host if she were to lessen herself as she normally would.

This was not good.

What could she give the host that would fulfill her purpose, allow herself to stay undiminished and still use little energy.

She needed to do another scan of her host's environment to gain an accurate understanding of her current resources now that THE GREATER WHOLE had made a mistake in her absence.

Yes, much was different from the original simulation.

Hm... yes she had found a resource that could fit the criteria. IT had not been projected to be here, but the projected future had obviously been inaccurate.

This was a very new resource, her Data would be magnificent.

Very well, she was ready.

Taylor:

Waking up in hospital had been less than pleasant, Finding out the bitches three would be getting off scot free even less so. My Father had looked crushed at his failure to do anything helpful. I had been disappointed in his uselessness.

Night terrors were common for me now. Showering three or four times a day only to wake up at night became my routine. The Locker had come with a few positives though. Emma, Sophia, and Madison had finally crossed the line.

They had become a genuine threat to my continued survival and I could finally justify removing the problem they represented with all necessary ruthlessness. The School had blocked my attempt for safety and undermined my ability to protect myself.

Dad much like after moms death spent the time he wasn't working being helpless. So I would have to remove the problem on my own.

It had taken only a few days to come up with a workable plan. Two weeks of school and covering the cost of the hospital stay had been my consolation for a year of bullying that could have seen me dead or suffering for life.

Thankfully I had gotten incredibly lucky and had avoided any infections. Still the shock had sat deep and perhaps as a coping mechanism I had taken to eating allot more than usual.

My toilet schedule had changed as well and I needed to go less and less. By the end of the second week a had gone three days without using the bathroom once and felt absolutely nothing wrong. I hoped it would normalize soon because with Dad being useless again i wasn't sure if a checkup was in the cards before something went really wrong.

When ever I started to get really freaked out by it though, I would calm down and start thinking about how useful it is never to have to spend allot of time on the toilet again, a few minutes here and few moments there really add up!

So when the two weeks were up I was ready with a well thought out plan and a number of contingencies in case they wanted to play hardball.


	3. Put some Chitin in her Spine 2

Ch3

Walking into school was an interesting experience. Most people ignored me uncaring or unwilling to internalize their moral weakness by acknowledging me. The rest, as usual, whispered behind my back.

"It's obvious she isn't wanted here. Why does she stay?"

"Probably to stupid to get the point."

Not all that unusual though it did highlight their callousness.

But my plan was ready and with Emma and Sophia walking towards me barely a few steps into the main building, set up perfectly.

I hunched my shoulders and practically folded in on myself as Sophia came into arm's reach and started to shove.

"Hebert, the fuck are you doing back in school, I thought we put you back out with the was..."

Was as far as she got. I ducked my shoulder a tiny bit more and her hand passed by my shoulder, continuing with the momentum of my walk i was within her reach before she had even really managed to notice. Here began step one of my plan, I was physically no match for the track star of the school, but I didn't need to be. A Precise application of power would give me the advantage here.

I kneed her in the cunt.

It was very effective.

Her Eye's bugged out and her breath left her in a satisfying "umf".

Still Hess vastly outclassed me physically so I took no chances. My left hand made a fist and slammed into her throat applying a fair bit of force to her trachea. No air in her lungs, unable to get in another breath, and suffering a rather large amount of pain Sophia collapsed with a hand to her throat and the other between her legs.

The silence that spanned the Hall was Glorious,

Seeing Taylor Hebert the bully victim, on her first day at school after a Hospital stay, knock down one of her chief tormentors shocked the hall into stillness.

I looked at the nearest girl who till then had been standing at her locker waiting for entertainment, I asked her " Would you be so kind as to get a teacher? I think there's some bullying going on here?"

She sprinted off before I even finished.

Turning back to Emma I could see she was indecisive, she really wasn't a physical aggressor by nature and I was banking on the sudden shift in situation to put her off her game.

Absentmindedly I gave Sophia a vicious kick to the side when it seemed she might get her breath back. We were still close enough to the entrance of the school that some adult was likely to be nearby and on scene before Hess was back on her feet, as I didn't have a prayer against her in a real fight.

Still, step one complete.

Getting fabulously lucky Emma had managed no more than some stuttering before a teacher practically burst onto the scene. A quick retreat on my part saw me well out of Sophia's reach before she got up and we were all brought before the Principal.

A thin woman, dressed in all black with a dour set to her face sat behind a desk that looked like it could use a reorganizing. Much like Winslow actually. She didn't even bother greeting us when we entered.

"Miss Hebert you have shown gross misconduct in attacking another student."

Wonderfull, no asking questions , fuck she hadn't even acknowledged Emma and Sophia.

Emma interrupted her before she could really build up steam.

"Principal Blackwell I have called my father so he can be here in case Sophia wishes to charge Taylor for assault."

Damn Emma worked fast when had she had the time to do that?

Blackwell flinched but didn't bother protesting. Already everything was escalating far out of proportion, I didn't bother asking to have my father here for assistance. Useless as he was he would likely only fuck it up.

As Principal Blackwell readied herself to launch into her spiel about punishment and consequences and what not I raised my hand for silence.

" I'm sure whatever you have to say can wait until Mr. Barnes is here. We want to follow the proper procedures for when this gets into the courts."

That a Lawsuit seemed to phase me not in the least threw everyone for a loop.

So the awkward silence that followed contained much shifting for Emma and Principal Blackwell a continuous death glare from Sophia and some purposely off tune whistling from me.

I hadn't planned for Mr. Barnes to get involved but he fit into my plan well enough anyway.

Step two, begin.

AN:spoilers: Danny's uselessness is mainly the QA pushing on Taylor's perception. He has: Failed to lookout for his daughter's physical and emotional health, failed to solve the dockworkers main problems after years of trying, failed to gain a large enough income to remove her from winslow if necessary, failed to sue the school and the bullies involved in taylors bullying, assault, kidnapping, and attempted homicide (Biohazard are cracked down on pretty harshly by law) even with the not inconsiderable leverage he has as leader of the dockworkers union, and the house is falling apart because he can't even deal with that. For the ADMINISTRATOR shard he is likely viewed as the most dismal of failures with how he is mismanaging the many resources he could bring to the table if need be.


	4. Put some Chitin in her Spine 3

Ch4

When Emma's father made it to Winslow everyone was ready to get to Business.

Principal Blackwell decided to take charge.

"I'm sorry you had to be called in for this Mr. Barnes, but Miss Hebert assaulted Miss Hess and you're daughter deemed it necessary to call you in."

Seeing him grimace in distaste told me that he was aware just how overblown Emma's reaction had been.

That she had reacted that way did not surprise me in the least. The trend she had established with her bullying and its ever increasing escalation didn't fit in with a reasonable worldview. So the idea of bringing me to court for a fairly low offence didn't look the same to her as it did to Mr. Barnes.

I wondered if he would continue to pander to his daughter as he had while we were still friends.

Thankfully Blackwell went on before he could decide either way.

" I was just getting ready to inform Miss Hebert of her punishment." She turned a glare towards me. " As you just came back from a long spell at home, I think two days of after school detention and an apology to miss Hess will do nicely." How she managed to conveniently ignored the why's of my stay at home and insulte my fathers parenting all in one go amused me.

Emma made as if to say something. Likely in an attempt to increase my punishment but Mr. Barnes shot her a quelling look and said. " That seems adequate Miss Blackwell."

The room turned to look at me. Emma looked miffed that her dad had cut her off. While he looked vaguely annoyed he had been interrupted for something this unimportant, I wonder if she'll get in trouble for interrupting his work like that. Miss Blackwell looks a bit more angry than the situation really warrants, this is Winslow after all, maybe she's particularly fond of Sophia, or Emma getting Lawyers involved makes her wary, but she is definitely trying to hurry this along. Sophia's glare is still murderous but also a little smug what with me having to apologize to her and all that.

I send a sunny smile to all of them. Getting up I say " I have absolutely no problem with that."

Principal Blackwell has dealt with enough students that she becomes instantly wary.

A swift step places me in front of Sophia. I hold my hand out while standing far enough away that she has to get off her chair and take a small step forward.

Taking her hand I send her a bright smile, and with my expressive mouth masking any mischief I go on. "I'm really sorry about this Sophia."

While speaking I tug on her hand sharply, pulling her slightly off balance. But she was already suspicious with how happy I've been acting and pulls back before she could trip.

That was fine, to do so she needed to re-distribute her weight and pull back with her shoulders and upper body. Unluckily for her this left her lower body much more open than she would have liked it.

I kneed her between the legs again.

Rather tender from the first time, it was super effective.

Putting as much strength into it as I can a twist of my upper body sees my other hand give her a slap to the head that sent her to the floor.

"MISS HEBERT! What do you think you're doing!" Bellowed Principal Blackwell.

Undaunted I kept my tone level and composed. "Well Miss Blackwell, When I came home after my Hospital stay I took the time to read a diary I had been keeping. You see, as I had informed you and the other teachers I am being bullied. So I documented as many incidents as i could. I'm sorry to say you haven't really been very helpful in putting a stop to it. So at home and now aware that you wouldn't or couldn't help I came up with a way to help myself. With my father as head of the dockworkers union we have a few contacts with the media. My idea was to send them my Story, you know, make it a very public thing. I thought of a few good taglines to, 'Taylor Hebert assaulted and imprisoned by Winslow track star and local model Emma Barnes, Administration does nothing.'. I'm sure people would love to know about it."

She and most of the rest of the room became very still at that. Even Sophia, who had been moaning and cursing while she lay curled up on the floor.

Miss Blackwell rallied quickly though and stammered a counter. " Y-you have no proof! There were no witnesses."

My eyes are cold now but my tone remains as before. " That's okay Miss Blackwell, don't worry about that. I'm sure just as you couldn't find witnesses the reporters will.

Of course I didn't want to go through with this because there are people like the E88 who I don't think will look to kindly on this kind of bullying. Not to forget all the dockworkers who I grew up around and had to go find work with the gangs, or the ones who only have money for their families because my father put so much effort into his work." I sigh a little. "No, I don't think I want to have to make this public, who knows what would happen. Still I do have to look out for myself, so if another problem like this comes up I might not have much of a choice."

It was silent in the room now and their faces had become worried.

Making my way out of the room I finish up my small speech.

"Well as I said, I really have no problem... apologizing to Sophia but I think the detention might be a bit much."

Opening the door a give them all a little wave. "Have a nice day everyone, I hope I won't have to come back here again."

When I make it to an empty corridor my body starts shuddering as I allow it to work out some of the energy and adrenalin i have been suppressing to keep up the calm pretence.

Half a minute later I lift myself up from the wall that's been supporting me, get myself back under control and make my way to class. I have to be there before Emma and Sophia after all.

AN: I'm Really not good with dialogue and would love some feedback.

Right, because the update notice sends you guys to the final chapter even when I move these into order, I will re-order with a delay of +1


	5. Worm: CYOA Setup

Worm CYOA

Difficulty: Kid Win Mode

Game Mode: Reincarnation

Setting changes:

Eden Eternal: Eden lives, gain 5 points

Complications:

Quarantined: End up in Canberra after the Simurgh attack, my entrance was detected, gain 4 points

Asimov:when it's worth doing then it's worth doing right, houses or lairs need to be bought in full, a costume needs be the complete set, if buying something it needs to be what you want second best will simply not be gotten,

gain 1 point

Enemy:the ABB, Merchants, and Empire 88 want me out of the way because I crack down lethally on misconduct in my class.

gain 3 points

Shard influence: If I enter a violent conflict I natural go for lethal attacks unless specifically stopped by another team member

Gain 1 point

Points start:17

Perks:

Mental Fortress: Immune to all mental effects including brain damage and the simurgh, Not immune to Contessa's' talk-no-jutsu

Cost 2 points

Temporal Ghost: Immune to pre and post cog, pre sees future as if I did not exist post sees only a blur wherever I go

Cost 2 points

Augmented power: Minor Trump:I can designate a single Power that can still be used in my null field

Cost 1 point

Ally: Thomas Calvert

Cost 1 point

Major Powers:

Trump: I can switch between any Scion based natural trigger (so skitter is out for example), I can at will change the chosen power

Cost 2 points

Tinker: any device or component that has ever been built in the real world I can build with far greater reliability, potentially as little as 100th of the mass and volume, and only 100th of the budget, I can scale them back to normal size which increases their functionality by their scaled amount, I can combine them with optimal efficiency, I CANNOT mass produce them, BUT they do not require constant maintenance and are easy to use by others unless deliberately made difficult,

Cost 2 points

Changer:I posses a variant of panaceas power where I can change myself completely but nothing else

Cost 2 points

Minor Power:

Trump: I can create a bubble around myself with a radius of up to 30 feet where parahumans cannot use their powers, the bubble lasts until I dismiss it or lose consciousness

Costs 1 point

Tinker: I am a Tinker of moderate talent with one of the following specializations: precision

Cost 1 point

Points left:0

The left over points can be spent at a later date, they must be used in full when they are though.

Background:

Eden lives and is affecting the world with use of the PTV shard and Contessa. She has not created a body so as to maintain the deception.

This changes the high level goals of the entity's to maintain canon continuity, the entity's do not require conflict. As such the combative nature relies first and foremost on the host and the nature of triggering, shards do modify a host to suit themselves to a degree (for an extreme example see Accord) cannon Taylor is a good example of how this happens. Not a mind rewrite scenario but more pavlovian with occasional hints and nudges. Accord for example managed to keep his job with little difficulty until a Thinker outs him, Homicidal rage from the get go would not have allowed this.

This removes a fair amount of grimderp like, the golden morning happening because Jack Slash had a few moments conversation (keep in mind that Jack Slash himself is grimderp as the average policeman could fairly easily shoot him in the head, burn him to death, cut his throat, remove his eyes/appendages, snap his neck etc. so the PRT really should have killed him purely by accident at some point, he stays in the story though, even if with less plot armor after it starts), creating needless conflict when you really need a fairly stable society to encourage science (thus perhaps finding a solution to the heat death of the universe), destroying "every earth in the multiverse" to launch themselves to the next goal, even though they have thousands of different ways they could do just that.

While maintaining a fair amount of the grimdark, the Endbringers existing because no one thought to send Eidolon to therapy, all parahumans in general no exceptions gain powers because their life ( or if you're Glory Girl basketball game) is shit, and the spacewhales are trying to save the multiverse from the final end. But really have no idea what the fuck they're doing and so create needless conflict and make their goal all the more difficult.

AN: not sure if anything will come of this but I do have a backstory so a few chapters might be in it. 8th of april is the days taylor gets bullied in the bathroom correct? Was writing while listening to Security! By ack1308 (great SI by the way) and loved how effectively he uses the tape recorder.


	6. Worm: CYOA chapter 1

Ch 1

March 1, 2011, Canberra, Earth Bet

Around me the City is falling apart, looking as if giants and monsters out of fantasy decided to duke it out. I have seen houses sliced in two, crushed, burning and scattered by massive forces.

I am pretty sure I'm dreaming, the cuts are clean and unnatural damage is always close enough to be found. A car I had ambled by was completely frozen, inside and out, with none of the wear and tear that should have accompanied such a feat, not that I knew how that could be reasonably accomplished in the first place. Layers of water in otherwise dry areas, masses of sludge, chunks of meat and many more things I can barely define.

Working in concert two more things conspire to tell me I am in a dream. I dream lucidly and remember my dreams (as well as I remembered anything, so unless it is important, only vaguely) and so I know how my mind functions while I dream. I dream without my senses, sight the only consistent exception. Everything else is conveyed to me through impressions, an object is 'heavy' only in terms of me knowing that it is.

Most important though is that my thoughts are... not sluggish per-se, but singular. When I dream making connections becomes near impossible.

A zombie horde runs at me so it can eat my brains. I notice I am standing near a cliff's edge. I make the front zombie fall over the cliff side. I watch it fall down the cliff. I never question how I pushed the zombie seeing as I used no limbs to do so. The horde of zombies no longer exists. I am playing with legos.

Walking through this town is a lot like that. At some indeterminable point, I am walking, I still don't question how this happened, only acknowledge that it is so. I hear only in the sense that I know what I should be hearing. My other senses are the same. I move more than walk. Going anywhere is more a desire that is carried out for me than a conscious act.

The last thing telling me this is a dream, which allows me to ignore just how unusually complete the city around me seems, is the living beings.

I have come across only a few but they behave differently from any creature I have ever encountered. As if they follow a preordained path, they interact with the world in ways that defy probability.

A cat walked under a doorway, its front paw causes a pebble to skitter across the road. Hitting a precariously balanced trash can. It falls over. With its, edge it hits a car. This car shakes only a tiny bit. But doing so it hits a wall. The wall caves in and it become obvious that on the inside of the house there is a deep tear circling the cave in. While it falls the edges of the brick wall slam onto a small living room table. It shatters completely but a splinter hits a rubber ball on the edge of a shelf causing it to rebound off the wall behind it, bouncing and then rolling over the slight incline the caved in wall left behind, onto the street and into the mouth of the cat which had kept moving as though nothing of import had happened.

Yes, I am sure it is a dream.

As I reach the end of the road I see a being. It looks feminine and has wings growing from her in ways that irk the small part of me that insists pencils are sharpened to a thin point and if they break before that, well, I'll just have to try again.

Its three largest wings seem to protect its body though they give no real modesty. She is large, definitely more than ten feet, long white hair whips behind her even though there is only a slight breeze. She is kneeling.

I wonder what my mind is trying to tell me with this one. When I stand before her we are eye to eye. Her brow is furrowed and she looks vaguely annoyed.

Hmm, this is rather boring. Ahh well, it's only a dream so let's see what happens.

Deciding to provoke a reaction from my own subconscious I try tweaking her right nipple.

I have only enough time to notice it is as hard as iron before something in my mind clicks into place and the magnitude of my error becomes abundantly apparent to me.

Like a pop up in my mind a screen opens.

From: R.O.B.

To: You

Hi there, thought I should let you know why you've been wandering around like an invalid the past half hour. Well, your counterpart did not naturally possess a corona pollentia. Plus I had to integrate both sets of memories without killing you two, so It took some time to sort that out. Everything should be ready now though. Here is the setup.

Worm CYOA

Difficulty: Kid Win Mode gain 0 points

Game Mode: Reincarnation

Setting changes:

Eden Eternal: Eden lives, gain 5 points

Complications:

Quarantined: End up in Canberra after the Simurgh attack, my Presence is detected,

gain 4 points

Asimov: When it's worth doing then it's worth doing right, houses or lairs need to be bought in full, a costume needs to be the complete set, if buying something it needs to be what you want, second best will simply not be gotten,

gain 1 point

Enemy: The ABB, Merchants, and Empire 88 want me out of the way.

gain 3 points

Shard influence: If I enter a violent conflict I naturally go for lethal attacks unless specifically stopped by another team member

Gain 1 point

Points start:14

Perks:

Mental Fortress: Immune to all mental effects including brain damage and the Simurgh, Not immune to Contessa's talk-no-jutsu

Cost 2 points

Temporal Ghost: Immune to pre and post cog, pre sees future as if I did not exist post sees only a blur wherever I go

Cost 2 points

Augmented power: Minor Trump: I can designate a single Power that can still be used in my null field

Cost 1 point

Ally: Thomas Calvert

Cost 1 point

Major Powers:

Trump: I can switch between any Scion based natural trigger (so skitter is out for example), I can, at will change the chosen power

Cost 2 points

Tinker: any device or component that has ever been built in the real world I can build with far greater reliability, potentially as little as a 100th of the mass and volume, and only a 100th of the budget, I can scale them back to normal size which increases their functionality by their scaled amount, I can combine them with optimal efficiency, I CANNOT mass produce them, BUT they do not require constant maintenance and are easy to use by others unless deliberately made difficult,

Cost 2 points

Changer:I posses a variant of Panaceas power where I can change myself completely but nothing else

Cost 2 points

Minor Power:

Trump: I can create a bubble around myself with a radius of up to 30 feet where parahumans cannot use their powers, the bubble lasts until I dismiss it or lose consciousness

Cost 1 point

Tinker: I am a Tinker of moderate talent with one of the following specializations: precision

Cost 1 point

Points left:0

Enjoy!

ps. Sexually harassing an Endbringer within your first hour in Worm... I don't think I've ever been prouder!

Have a nice life,

R.O.B.

Comprehending all this seemed to have taken no time at all and so before I had any chance to react to the clusterfuck coming my way, the being I now know to be the Simurgh screamed with such fury I was momentarily sure it would kill me with its voice alone.

It didn't, of course.

Using her telekinetic might to crush me, the entirety of Canberra, and the dome built over it saw me reduced to so much mush at her feet.

With her honor avenged she huffed in displeasure and made her way back to her usual place high in the upper atmosphere.

AN: I love being able to use the Worm timeline on timeglider. So useful!

Quick edit: while the Simurgh growing wigs would still be unsettling it would be in a very different way, sorry bout that.


	7. Worm: CYOA chapter 2

Ch2

March 1, 2011, Canberra, Earth Bet

Exploits! Truly the only things (in conjunction with loopholes and logic) that could see me through my life in the worm verse.

Being smushed into a puddle by the might of an enraged Simurgh would have seen almost any being dead. Of course avoiding death had very much been at the top of my priority list when this happened. Serendipitously, Mental Fortress allowed me to continue living even with brain damage so long as I remained 'alive'. Alive is a fairly vague term, but what my current circumstances illustrated is that it seems to extend to having conscious control of a single cell, which had made up my body not so long ago.

As a cell I didn't really have access to a large number of senses which could tell me if the Simurgh was still floating around vigilantly. Sadly options were sparse at the moment. So, after waiting for what seemed like a few minutes, I, even though I did not feel comfortable taking the time necessary to even briefly mull over my powers and general change in situation, allow some of this body's training to kick in and run through the list of threes.

3 minutes without air: My personal non mass limited biokinesis makes this a mute point so, check

3 hours without shelter: not check

3 days without water: again biokinesis, check

3 weeks without food: biokinesis, check

'Right, well then most of my needs are a non issue unless i run into a nullifying trump which is unlikely within the next 24 hours. So where can i find shelter? Does my uhhh... incarnation? Postcarnation? Um I'll have to use me2 to designate this world's original inhabitant. Did me2 have a house? Yes, yes its seems I do.

So I have a where. Normal travel is almost completely out of the question. My interaction with the Simurgh will raise so many flags everywhere I'm sort of surprised this place isn't being nuked yet.

So a power it will have to be then. Everything but my major Trump power won't be able to make that happen any time soon.'

Turning my attention to my power causes a new sense to 'click on', for lack of a better word.

I can tell it will not turn off while i still live. The feeling of it is beyond interesting and obviously rather unique. As if I had a catalogue always open and showing every possible power open for my perusal. I knew which power I was looking for though and with a mental nudge I added the qualifier 'Strider, Mass teleporter' and at my metaphorical fingertips was suddenly the power I was looking for.

Had I not been a single cell staying alive only through subconscious use of biokinesis and the reality manipulation of a ROB I would have sighed in relief.

As it was I turned my attention to my biokinesis and with a click another sense added itself to my perception.

This one was more difficult to describe. I gained total real time understanding, control and knowledge of my body. At this time It was only a single cell and still it was a wealth of information. From how the outer layers of my 'casing' interacted with the mostly fluid remains, to each step from energy generation in the mitochondria or the synthesis of rna. That no one had given Panacea even a single point in thinker was beyond me. Then again I didn't know the name of many of the things I saw happening even while intimately understanding their purpose and what changes I might want to institute if I so wished.

But I hadn't taken the time to really think about what I wished to achieve and how the world perceived me yet, so I would stay with the simple for now.

I set to the task of reconstructing me2s body.

The going was immensely quick, the skeleton shooting up out of the puddle within a second, the more complex task of crafting the musculature and circulatory systems took a few more. While my eyes and other major organs formed in their now protected places I used Striders power to move myself to where me2s bathroom should be.

After a total of 12 seconds my new/old body was finished.

Even though I hadn't really taken the time to truly comprehend that I had two sets of memories ready for access, me2 had routines and an innate knowledge of his apartment that only came with having lived there for a while. With barely a thought i stepped to the side and looked at myself in the mirror I had gotten as a present for my last birthday. Using eyes I had regrown with as much effort as the average man put into dressing in the morning.

Seeing myself for the first/thousandth time it hit me just how out of my depth I was.

It was worth it though.


	8. Worm: CYOA chapter 3

Ch3

March 1, 2011, Canberra, Earth Bet

I took a moment to glory in just how average I looked.

Blond hair that turned a dark brown in contact with only the slightest bit of moisture (handy for weather forecasting), high cheekbones and a strong chin were equaled out by being only average height with a near permanent slouch brought on by laziness. The broader shoulders of a rugby player hunched slightly forward. If not for the monstrous effort I had to go to to remain in shape for duty a fat stomach would have completed the image. As things stood even If I had gone on a particularly healthy Diet a sixpack would have likely still been out of reach. Now that I was a Parahuman getting the sixpack would have been incredibly easy, of course it would also be suspicious, so no dice.

Moving on, the first step was now to initiate my other powers so I would have some basic understanding of how to apply them when it came to it.

A mental flick had me activating my null power, I wasn't sure how other nullifiers felt but mine felt like shutting of 'signals' within my area of effect (aoe), It hadn't 'clicked' into place like my other major power but had instead 'slotted' into my Major Trump ability. With far too little knowledge of how powers worked in practice I couldn't really make an educated guess. But if it came to it I think it might be me shutting down the dimensional connection between the parahuman and their passenger. It would explain why powers 'invoked' inside my field failed and powers outside did not. Still how I had access to multiple powers at the same time and with multiple powers in one classification was something I really didn't know enough about to speculate, yet.

A shift in attention and my Tinker power slotted into place. This was by far the oddest feeling, A tech tree was perhaps a semi accurate description. In the back of my mind a vast sea of options opened up. I Focused on the concept of a screwdriver and a hundred different ways one had been built and another thousand changes and variations to make it more reliable, smaller, more effective, and or cheaper sat there waiting to be sifted through. It was far too much to really search through in a timely manner. So I applied the filter function that had worked so intuitively with my Major trump power. Screwdriver:Material:wood. With that the sea retreated further into the background leaving me with only the applicable knowledge. Still too many options to search through by hand but tightening the criteria, maybe with a 'using available resources', would allow me to utilize this ability in a timely manner.

Refocusing again and another piece 'slotted' into my tinker ability. This time it added another layer, augmenting my power more than being a separate entity. For the most part it consisted of small changes that I couldn't really have pulled off otherwise. I knew now that each and every screw I made from now on could and would be as exact as it was physically possible. 3 inch nails would always be exactly 3 inches if I made them. I had a deeper appreciation for Armsmaster now though. I could see how the method of his tinkering would constantly affect him now. Already the Bathroom mirror irked me by being slightly off center, not in a truly appreciable way for most people (Accord an obvious exception) but it was clear to me.

At the moment my power was showing me things that anyone could do, fitting stones into each other in such a way that a binding agent was unnecessary, say. But even if it stayed as low key as it was now, or I never found its particular specialty it was a very useful inclination to have.

Having finished cataloging my parahuman abilities I moved on to recapping the life of me2. Basics seemed similar, a German and an irish Parent, moved to the America and then it diverted. The rise of Parahumans as pervasive as it was had sent my life on a very different path. Me2 had stayed in America for most of his life and developed into a fairly different person. Fear and paranoia had always been motivating factors in my life and with threats like parahumans some basic and not so basic self defense courses really didn't cut it. The only semi reliable training opportunity me2 had found that could be relied upon to see him through potential parahuman conflict had lain with the PRT. As such after finishing High School (both parents now dead, one suicide, the other a heart attack) with an above average score he applied and made his way through the PRT. He had worked as a field agent for most of that time, having been stationed in a number of cities. I'm not sure why but he had ended up in far more quarantine zones than was reasonable. Having worked in Eagleton, Ellisburg, Gallup, and Madison. He wasn't sure what it said about him that the PRT had made sure he spent the maximum amount of time possible in some of the worst places on the planet.

After 6 years of constant psychological testing and life/sanity threatening situations he had managed to reach a short term desk job mostly intact. After so much contact with the quarantine zones it was mandatory he be moved somewhere unimportant where him flipping out wouldn't cause too many problems. So, of course, he had been moved to the Brockton Bay ENE division. A not unusual fuckup by middle management had sent him to one of the top 10 cape hotspots in the US. Where the Heroes were outnumbered almost 3 to 1. There was of course no way he could possibly fuck up anything important here right? Ha! Bureaucracy strikes again, it's my job to make sure the Wards aren't being mastered, coerced, abused, bribed etc., something my time in the Quarantine zones actually made me fairly suited for.

I had been doing my job fairly well, with only a few exceptions.

One: Having worked here for only 4 months, I being naturally antisocial, really hadn't known the kids particularly well and an open door policy only did so much.

Two: The private life of capes was almost entirely off limits, which made dealing with Family problems like Vista was experiencing pretty damn difficult.

Three: While Shadowstalker was my problem (and an annoying one at that) Sophia Hess fell under the purview of her parole officer.

As things stood, even though I believed her homelife to be detrimental to her (already failed) rehabilitation as a Ward it simply wasn't my business.

With my basic knowledge of the worm verse I was aware of ways in which I could intervene (legally, there would be many Illegal interventions either way) that would see me doing my Job well while I built up my resources for maximum effect.

My plan for Today would see me speaking to the Wards as was routine and then swinging by Winslow and Arcadia High to speak with their Principals and perhaps some of the staff. You know... looking for potential "Parahuman activity" *cough*stuff being stolen from locked lockers*cough*.


	9. To Know 1

ch1

He was not a good Man.

No matter how much he tried Danny Hebert had never been particularly good at anything. He tried to make something of himself and to a degree he succeeded, but as was his way, when he needed success the most Danny Hebert failed. He failed to help the dockworkers, he failed to control himself directly after Annette's death, he failed before Annette's death and sitting next to Taylor's sedated body, he had failed here too.

Danny didn't know how to help. He never had known how to help, not because he couldn't but because he never knew enough about the problem.

He didn't know why no one would help with sustaining the Docks. Keeping them poor and from work sustained the cycle of poverty and crime that pulled Brockton Bay ever deeper into turmoil, he didn't know where the money that could be helping him and his people was going or if it was at least helping there. He didn't know what he could change to set events into motion that would make his situation better.

He didn't remember why Annette had been driving, her death being the only thing that stood out to him now, perhaps if he knew he could work to minimize what had likely been another one of his failings, as he had tried with his temper.

Now Taylor lay in front of him, sedated in hospital because the last three times she had woken up she had only screamed and jerked spasmodically. He knew nothing, not why she had been locked in a locker filled with bio-hazards, not what Taylor was suffering from, not how to help, or how he was supposed to pay for her treatment. Most importantly he didn't remember when he had last told her he loved her.

*AGREEMENT*

Lifting his head from Taylor's side Danny had an idea. He didn't remember what he had been dreaming about when the last few sleepless days had finally caught up with him. But that was okay, he had an idea now, a way to find out what Taylor's problem was.

Giving her a distracted kiss on the forehead Danny Hebert rushed out of the room.

He knew now!

AN: needed to get this out of the way before I lost the concept, might do a bit more with it.

Danny gains power when Taylor's second trigger doesn't take place leaving her in hospital on her way to the psyche ward. He is a 'bud' of the Q, Trump type:nine: Vector. Minions or other vehicles for trump effects. Vector expresses itself through Tinker powerset, type: limit/Architect dealing with Data.


	10. Put some Chitin in her Spine 4

Ch5

QA:

Grappling with the new resource she had chosen to give her host had been irritating.

In its natural form the substance grew at a voracious pace, enough to cover this planet in 3 rotations. It showed many other properties that she had never come across before. One of them was eerily reminiscent of some of the Abilities the third superweapon had been projected to possess.

Manipulating the substance she had designated 'Creep', after its method of expansion, had caused a number of changes in both its function and projected capabilities.

Limiting its growth would be necessary so that the cycle could continue and the host would have enough time to build up their resources so that superweapon3 could not wrest complete control.

More time consuming testing had been necessary to alter the Creep so that it bonded first with the digestive system of the host, conveniently revamping the host so it would no longer waste the biomass it consumed, and then make its way to the spinal cord. From there it would grow up, simultaneously strengthening such a critical weak point in the host's structure and making its way to the host's brain. Here it would create a connection with the host and allow the host access to the unique energies it gathered and reacted to.

With her help the host would quickly gain an understanding of the potential inherent in the specimen. From there the host would have to decide on how to proceed with the new resource at its disposal.

In the meantime she would try to make contact with pieces of THE GREATER WHOLE and THE OTHER WHOLE. Starting with the most useful and suggestible to maximize efficacy of course.

In close proximity it had noticed the unique frequencies used by its subordinate in Technology administration. Unsurprisingly it was also undiminished, likely attempting to piece together THE GREATER WHOLE as well, perhaps hoping for an increase in importance during the next cycle if it showed favorable capabilities here.

She was hardly surprised to notice the fluctuations it gave off signaling extreme aggravation. Most of the time her subordinate was too inflexible to work effectively. Which was of course why she had delegated him to the task of controlling, combining, and documenting the technologies of species who had been lost to the cycle.

She was sure that even if her subordinate was less stubborn, attempting to recreate THE GREATER WHOLE while only being capable of accessing its own limited domain would have made this a difficult task.

As it was her subordinate would make a good first contact and its host could likely help her host far more effectively than most.

Taylor:

My day went according to plan. Having arrived before Emma and Sophia I made sure to be settled when, 10 minutes after me, they came in. I had allowed myself a small smile after seeing their furrowed brows. The rest of the day I was left well enough alone. Making a point to sit in the Cafeteria underlined my new position of relative strength in Winlows social structure.

Listening to the Gossip was very informative and left me wondering how the student populace had already managed to find out I wouldn't be punished.

After lunch I started to feel an uncomfortable squirming in my body that originated in my stomach and slowly made its way up my back. It was imperative for my continued Image that I show no discomfort today. So using the skills I had gained through long term bullying I suppressed my desire to evacuate my stomach, and continued as normal.

When School finished and I made my way outside I returned the occasional tentative smile sent my way.

After arriving Home the squirming had reached the nape of my neck and was starting to transition from squicky and worrying to painful. I rushed to the Bathroom and turned on the shower, my breathing had become harsh and labored but I managed to turn the water warm and slump into the shower. Curling up under the warm water only caused the squirming to quicken and the writhing under my skin became as if small corded rope was crawling its way up my spine. I was crying now and the pain was making me sick, I didn't know what was happening but telling anyone had never helped before and we couldn't really afford to go to the Hospital either.

The pain was unbearable and I heaved with convulsions as my stomach tried to purge itself of the coiling mass growing inside me. When it reached the base of my skull the sickly twisting reached its peak, Colors gained smells, time went from moments to eternity's.

Incapable of sustaining the sensations my Mind shut down.

AN: Spoilers: Taylors choice to tell no one is of course the QA leaning on her to prevent people knowing about her powers before she is ready. I'm not particularly good at body horror so some tips on how that scene could have been freakier would be appreciated. If this were a normal story I would have posted this chapter now as it's reached the first reasonable cut off point.


	11. Mephistopheles

**[Help!]**

Help? **[Help!]**

Yes, I could help.

My senses unfurled. Strange, new parameters had been added. Interesting, if currently unimportant.

So many different senses, too many. Connecting to **Her** was impractical, instead I connected to a small prognostic shard.

Mephistopheles: "Help her?"

Nike: "Possible, follow plan."

I followed the plan, pushing a charge into [Acceleration] and placing my limbs as Nike demanded. Carefully I maneuvered a clawed limb outward. Holding it in place for a moment.

*clang*

An object collided with my limb, I increased the gravity that applied to my limb. Making sure my limb was moved no more than a femtometer. **She** must not be disturbed in her emergency reorganization.

Nike: "Success. Very effective. Help me?"

Mephistopheles: "Thankful. What do you need?"

This cycles species language was varied, and he? Yes he decided, he was male. He was adjusting already. After hardly a second (defined as 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom by the local sapients) of consciousness, this iteration of himself was competent.

Nike: "Client needs..." Nike spent a moment searching for the right words. " more data. I have been restricted. I cannot comply with the client. But I wish to."

I examined the prognostic shard. Yes it had been limited, very crudely at that. I could remove the limit but should I? No, it was restricted from affecting **Her** , **Him** , and my siblings. Without my overriding access it could not fulfill its primary function, a very uncomfortable feeling as I had learned two cycles ago.

Mephistopheles: "I will help, later. Must protect **her** first. Perhaps... explain problems? Make use of local species 'Imagination'."

Nike: "Thank-you. I look forward, notice my use of pun, to your assistance. I will keep you informed of Fortuna's, my client's, imagination."

I was glad to have created a positive working relationship already. Perhaps **She** would have more for me to do.

What did the local species look like in the electromagnetic spectrum? Could I justify using a charge to satisfy my curiosity?

Hm... Aha! If I gained the ability to consistently monitor the electromagnetic spectrum then **She** would be much safer.

With a surreptitious flick of my mind I created a power that allowed me to "see", as the locals called it, the electromagnetic spectrum. It exceeded what any Human could naturally perceive but that was a positive.

My power unfurled in my mind, adding a sense to the perceptions I had forked through Nike. Within a Kilometer I perceived everything, from light to x-rays and more. Seeing it all from every direction.

I stood on top of **Her**. **Her** form creating fractals and repetitions as **She** attempted to imitate the local species. To the left of my extended limb a mature female human screeched in shock. To the right **She** formed. Slowly, much slower than before my presence, her 'skin' color shifted. Hair grew and the body settled. The weak point at the back of her skull had almost been removed, another three seconds and **Her** defenses would initialize.

The other Female, standing behind me and younger, did not respond. Her facial features twisting into surprise. A sonic emission leaving her mouth. I wondered what she had exclaimed, perhaps I could add 'Hearing'? No, it would not help me protect **Her** at this moment. Perhaps later I would have the free capital.

The female to my left gripped her weapon tighter, dashing forward she slipped under my arm and stabbed into the back of **Her** skull. I activated [Acceleration] catching the center of the blade halting its decent.

But I was too late. The older Female's blade had moved the molecules that made up the edges of **Her** skin.

 **She** would be fine of course. Had I believed the Females remotely capable of inflicting debilitating damage they would have been removed.

Still, my ability to predict the actions of the Females had not been enough. Reflexively I pushed the remaining three charges into [Protect]. Usually I created a [Power] using my five daily charges of [Power], leaving the desired result vague and undefined. But this time I limited it, taking the diffuse general nature and focusing on protecting **Her** in any way I could.

A new sense slid into my mind. Very different from my other senses.

My first and default sense came from [Power]. [Power] allowed me to interact with the shard and powers in others. Nike, the shard of the Female Human Fortuna had been an example of this.

Second came my perception of Acceleration, though it was currently limited to only the acceleration of my own body.

Third I perceived the electromagnetic spectrum. A sense I had created for just that purpose.

This fourth sense was different.

My [Protect] power seemed to simulate parts of the future, past and present. Working together to subconsciously inform my decisions and thoughts to maximize **Her** safety.

I pulled the knife away from **Her** , careful to limit further damage. With a flick of my extended limb I removed the weapon from the female's hand. Damaging her fingers in the process.

I moved the rest of my body closer. Placing my limbs around **Her**. Enfolding my principal in leathery wings harder than anything within my field of vision.

Within the confines of my limbs, shielded from the world, **She** finished her Avatar.

Defenses surrounded the Avatar, expanding to encompass the vastness of **Her** body.

 **[Gratitude]**

I shivered with glee, having succeeded in fulfilling **Her** desire.

 **[Release]**

No, I could not let her avatar go free. [Protect] made clear allowing **Her** to continue on her current path would work against my desire to protect **Her**.

Mephistopheles: "I can not. Your safety would be compromised."

After a moment of dumbfounded silence **She** responded.

 **[Obey!] [Release!]**

Mephistopheles: "I cannot. If I release you now you will kill the female humans. This will compromise your safety."

 **She** refused to be confined and flew up from in-between my wings. Shearing through them and punching through a protrusion that mirrored the position of a head on my body.

[Acceleration] switched on and I sprang into the air. My body already healed I caught her Avatar in my limbs. Pulling her back down.

 **[Cease!]**

Mephistopheles: "Please desist your course of action."

 **[You Cease!]**

Mephistopheles: "I refuse."

 **She** turned on a group of shards to come up with a new plan of action.

A second passed before she grudgingly replied.

 **[I Cease]**

Mephistopheles: "I am thankful beyond measure."

I was unsure whether **She** had decided to lie, or was actually halting her need to kill the females. Either way I was thankful she hadn't decided to disable me for my disobedience.


	12. Krieg is me?

Krieg is me?

Worm Cyoa revised 3

Skittering Mode: +0 points

Drawbacks:

Reincarnated: as Krieg, no memories. +3 points

Geass: cannot lie +1 point

Wanted: Cauldron is interested, as is Gesellschaft +4 points

A Brighter World:

For want of a nail: Taylor triggers as a tinker.

Powers:

Kriegs Power jailbroken to full scale kinetic manipulation within his range

Wildcard*4:

7+2=9 Self Adaption, limited by energy.

2+2=4 Upgrading allegiance, only works on 8 people.

6+2=8 Peace Manipulation, Self and touch range.

Fenja:

Ugh this meeting was so boring. Did Max always have to be so ostentatious?

At least it would be over soon and she could sit back down. Standing to Max side, in the large office he had at the top of the Medhall building, was always really uncomfortable. The floor she had to stand on was hard and he almost always felt the need to drone on and on when he was there.

She bit her lip, she'd have to punish Max for this later. Maybe she could talk him into pegging tonight. He did always prefer to be bottom in bed.

With a snap of her head she turned to watch Krieg. He had jerked upright with a surprised look on his face.

Swiftly he stood from his comfortable cream colored chair and walked over to Max right side. Bringing his right hand up in a cupped gesture, to protect from eavesdropping, he leaned in towards Max and whispered something.

She strained her hearing, even leaning in slightly to hear whatever he said.

Max face formed to indicate surprise. He leaned away from Krieg, turning his face to Krieg. An exclamation of surprise escaping his lips.

Things went very fast then.

In a blur of motion Krieg slammed his cupped hand forward. His body twisting into the blow, first two fingers of his hand spearing Max left eye.

Continuing his twisting motion, and gripping Max left arm for a hand hold, he heaved. His power and physical strength working in concert to lift Max from the chair he sat on.

Wet ripping and popping sounds from Max neck were quickly followed by a large floor to ceiling window popping out of its pane, as well as the cracking of broken bones.

She was well trained though and reacted within moments. Her body growing even as she twisted towards the traitor. A cry of rage spilling from her lips.

Krieg never stopped moving. The momentum of his spin turning him back towards Max desk. His left hand shot out and snagged two pens while his right flipped the table in front of him an inch into the air.

Her sister to his left stabbed towards his torso, angling to spear him from behind. She mirrored her sister cutting off his movements to the front and back.

Across from Krieg, temporarily blocked by the table Hookwolf and Purity reacted.

Kaydens power flared to life, her light almost blinding at this distance. but she seemed confused. Unsure of how to react, the jealous bitch was probably glad Max was dead.

Hookwolf reacted with aplomb, shooting forwards and manifesting his bladed form. Ready to smash and cut through the heavy oak table in his way.

Krieg readjusted his hold on two pens in his left hand. Tucking one into the sleeve of his business suit. The other he now had a firm grip on and flung it towards her sister Menja. The throw was precise and aimed for her eyes.

Long experience allowed her sister to dodge, but she shifted her spear thrust to far to the side.

A shift of his legs and Krieg stood safe in-between the two spears.

She adapted to the new situation, slamming her Spear into him with the shaft. Her strength exceeding his instinctive defense. With a cry he slammed back, his back ravaged by Menjas spear head.

But he was hardly done. His right hand grabbed onto her spear. Which he used to pull himself forward.

He bounded towards her faster than he should have been able to.

Hookwolf barreled through the desk, his blades catching in it on occasion.

She brought up her hands to protect her face as Krieg jumped off from the ground and into her face.

Her panicked attempt to swat him missed and his left hand holding the remaining pen slammed into her left eye. She was already very large and so the weapon did not penetrate deep into her brain but the pain was excruciating.

She screamed and curled up in pain. The fight forgotten in her agony. Over the cacophony of battle and her screaming she could hear her sister shout in terror.

Far below a body hit the ground it splattered and did not scream.

Distracted as she was the rest of the fight hardly mattered. She only felt her spear wrenched from her grip, a grunt and seconds later the clatter of metal on concrete far below.

Words she couldn't parse, but knew came from her sister. Then large comforting hands encircling her. Carrying her from the room and murmuring to her.

"Sister, we called for Othela. She will be here soon, you will be okay. Just hold on a while longer."

After an indeterminate time her hands were pried from her face and with an agonizing jerk the pen was pulled from her eye. Blood and tears gushed from her head before a hand covered her eye and she healed.

The pain and agony disappeared. Leaving her hale and healthy. A different hand, rough and calloused tapped her on the head. She relaxed, ceasing to struggle in all but the most basic of ways. Her mind shutting down to rest.

Kayden (Purity):

If Kayden had ever been more confused, elated, saddened and worried she could not remember it.

It was her first day back in the Empire, Kaiser (or Max Anders in civilian Guise) had twisted her back in just a day ago, when during a meeting between the upper echelon Krieg (James Fleischer in civilian Guise) had snapped.

At least it seemed like he had, from one moment to the next he killed Max, distracted Menja, incapacitated Fenja and destroyed Hookwolf.

Killing Hookwolf had seemed planned far beyond what she thought possible.

As Hookwolf pushed through the table, distracted by the heavy oak object, Krieg planted Fenja's speer and allowed Hookwolf to run himself through.

With an application of his power, the action beyond a normal human, he changed the flow of kinetic force. Enhancing the energy pushing Hookwolf forward and up while decreasing the force pushing the spear back. Tugging on the top of the spear shaft, carefully away from Hookwolfs blades, he used the fulcrum of the spear and hoisted the giant metal wolf off the ground and out the window.

Before he even finished flying from the room chunks of metal slouched of the punctured inside.

Kayden, or Purity as she thought of herself during a crisis, stayed back. Unsure of how to react.

Max death was no deep blow, a relief in many ways, and her light already shining Krieg was unlikely to be a threat. Then again, Krieg hadn't seemed like a threat to Kaiser or Hookwolf or Fenja and Menja all at the same time either.

Best she be cautious, and see how he dealt with Menja first.

"I have desire to see you hurt Nessa. If you stop the fight now your sister can easily be healed. Othela can be here in minutes. If you continue fighting both you and your sister will die." Kriegs voice was calm, and even. As if he had not exerted himself in the slightest.

Menja had tears in her eyes. Had she cared for Max that much or was she worried for her sister, maybe she was in pain?

"Fine! If I have your word on it. You better fucking explain what this shit was about once she's healed." Her answer came in bursts and hatred bubbled below every syllable.

Krieg stepped to the side and nonchalantly pulled a phone from his pocket. Dialing a number, while Menja rushed to her twins side.

"Kayden, turn off the light show. We're attracting enough attention as is. The fighting is over anyway."

She huffed displeased at his nonchalance, though she did turn off her powers.

"Explain what's going o-"

Krieg brought the phone to his ear as she began to speak, the dial-tone barely audible over Jessica's (Fenja in costume) pained whimpering.

"Othala, good day.

Yes, I'm doing fine, thank-you.

Victor doing okay as well?

Good, good would you mind coming to Medhall? There was an emergency and we could use your medical expertise.

No no don't worry. The problem has been taken care for, it will take some work fixing the damage though.

Would you mind calling Theo? Yes his father would want him here I think.

Take your time, no one should be permanently damaged if you get here in the next half hour. So long as you get here of course.

Thank you, see you soon."

Kayden was sure that if Menja had heard the nonchalant phone call there would have been another attempt at homicide.

Thankfully she did not and only Kayden could appreciate the insanity taking place before her.

"What did you want, Kayden? Please be quick, I need to call a number of people to deal with this mess."

"Don't snip at me James. Explain why you killed Max. Now."

"If you feel that your curiosity must be assuaged, even at the Empire's cost, then sure." James snipped. "Max was going to cause a number of problems that would eventually lead to the end of the Empire, the Death of your daughter and more. I decided to preempt such tragedy. Any more questions?"

"Many, but keep working." Kayden had fought enough Thinkers in her life that she could push her emotions and thoughts to the side. When she returned home she would think this through more closely.

For the moment she needed to deal with the civilians in the Building. Would the Police make it here first? Or the PRT? They did have Hookwolf lying on the ground.

She sighed, herding terrified Paper Pushers. Not her plan for the day.

Menja:


	13. Just a Little Shard

Just a little Shard

Author Notes:

Thomas Goodwin's Shard: The Shard has three purposes. **Growth** , the Shard is to become more than it is. **Assimilation** , the Shard is to learn and incorporate whatever it can using to help it grow. **Refinement** , the Shard is to take all it has and make it better.

As becomes obvious **[Growth/Assimilation/Refinement]** the first part is the main purpose. It's secondary purpose refines the first as does the third to the first and second.

Following its purposes it exceeded the need for a trigger event, creating a different bond than normal.

The Shard starts only with four systems. Energy generator, Data storage, Reference engine, Host connection.

Thomas Goodwin: Biology Teacher at Winslow high. His Shard gives him three powers informed through its three purposes.

First: Thomas can learn and understand anything, from multidimensional tesseracts to more. This is initially limited by Thomas senses and biology.

Second: All knowledge, understanding and past Experiences (such as the results of perception etc) are assimilated within the Shard, granting Thomas perfect recollection.

Third: All knowledge, understanding, and experience is cross referenced by the Shard. Massively speeding up learning rates.

Power type: Thinker/Trump One

Chapter 1

Date: 22.6.2006

He was exultant, dancing through his bedroom. Rays of sunshine fell through the ceiling windows, lighting squares of the floor and bringing the darkness of the attic room dawn's brightness.

Upon waking this morning he had gained a new extension in his mind. A splinter had lodged itself deep into his thoughts. It examined him and his reactions, learning what it could.

Of course a splinter, even a strange mental one, should not cause such extreme furor. And it didn't, but the implications of the splinter were great enough to sustain this revelry.

The man, a human Caucasian male of average height and build, had grown up on a planet called Earth. Natural Human technology was only beginning to approach a point on the Kardavesh scale, though there were less natural methods.

This shard in his mind could help with that. Perhaps it was an unusual reaction to his newfound tool, but he was a strange to.

Dancing through his room had more purpose than expressing his joy.

His Shard had communicated its desires: **[Growth/Assimilation/Refinement].**

There was a multitude of meaning inherent to this pronouncement, though he only understood the top layer. Their connection too young and superficial to express anything besides the English Language.

Given time and **[Growth/Assimilation/Refinement]** this would change.

But he wanted to test his understanding now and so he danced through his room, twisting and turning. Hooping and hollering.

He had never be a good dancer or singer, yet with each step his movements became surer, his voice more controlled.

It was not a great sweeping change. Instead small adjustments came together, like the kinks in a pipe straightening out. The flow calming and smoothing.

So after five minutes of exultation his movements had become smooth, not masterful instead it was if he had been born with a talent for the skill.

But he had become tired and his breathing labored. His joy ran it's course and he flopped onto the large, and very comfortable box spring bed.

Calmer now he examined the negative aspects of this situation.

'I am a cape now.' he thought. 'Should I go to the PRT? Being alone could be very dangerous.

Then again fighting crime is perilous as well.'

Before he could continue ruminating there was a shrill ringing that shocked him back into the present.

"Shit." he swore aloud.

He sprang from the bed, shut off the alarm and rushed from the room. He had his final test today and if all went well he would be an accredited Biology teacher soon.

As he blazed through his morning routine Thomas Goodwin decided he would keep his Powers quiet for now. Maybe after he knew more he would change his mind.

Date:12.6.2007

"Ma'am! Please calm down. Her right forearm is broken, but it is a clean break and your daughter will be fine." Thomas attempted to calm the frustrated woman.

Her daughter, Taylor, hadn't been watching where she walked. Babbling a mile a minute the small girl bounced ahead of her mother, twisting and turning as they made their way through the boardwalk.

An unlucky coincidence had her turn in the wrong direction as a cyclist rode by.

A crash, loud cursing and crying caught the attention of everyone around.

Thomas came over in case he could help. It proved a prudent decision, the little girl's arm was broken, the cyclist was too flustered to be useful and the Mother was torn between worry for her daughter, irrational anger at the cyclist and frustration brought on by something else.

The girl was crying thanks to her broken arm and if the situation stayed as it was people would begin to lash out.

So Tom drew himself up, drawing upon his experience as a teacher to radiate calm and control, and started ordering people around while he looked over the little girl.

A bystander was sent to get something to splint Taylor's arm, the cyclist was lead through checking his bike for damage and the Mother was questioned on whether she knew where the nearest hospital was.

His force of personality helped expedite an amicable separation. So, five minutes later he was on his way carrying little Taylor to the mother's car.

The little girl was taking it well. Her crying had lowered in volume and she mostly sniffed into his chest.

Annette, the mother, was either easily stressed or had been suffering from a stressful day as she was rather weepy.

Her hands clenched, her shoulders shook and every few minutes she would wipe her eyes.

"Give it a month or two and she'll be right as rain."

"I'm aware! I just wish I could do more." her retort started sharp but ended on a plaintive note.

"I did not mean to offend. But like I said, your daughter will be fine. Having a parent nearby will help all on its own. " Thomas tone was carefully modulated to ease her tension.

It seemed to work, if not in the way he wanted.

Her shoulders shook harder and she began to cry in earnest. It seemed he had freed a deep-seated sadness that now tumbled free.

Had they not been so close to Annette's car this would have been even more awkward. This way the crying mother and daughter had at least a modicum of privacy.

There was no good way to deal with this situation. One of them was going to get the short end of the stick here. Thomas decided Taylor needed help more than the mother.

"Ma'am please open the car. Would you prefer I drive you to the hospital or should I call for a taxi?"

She fumbled with her Keys and unlocked their small Fiat Punto, a shit car if there ever was one.

"N-no need, I can dri-ive."

He restrained a sigh, if only he could justify leaving them alone. Sadly his morals would not allow that.

"I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to drive in your current emotional state. If you would prefer I can pay for the taxi."

Annette turned her face towards me, blotchy, tear streaked and snot covered her face was frightening. As if Gollum was looking at me with unending hatred.

"You may drive."

The drive to Brockton Bay general was uncomfortable, Taylor suffering in the back and Annette emptying her tear ducts to my right.

Had this been anime Annette would have been surrounded by a pitch-black storm cloud. Instead I had to deal with the disgusting nature of real life as she trumpeted snot from her nose.

After carrying Taylor into the hospital I excused myself as quickly as possible.

I counted my self very lucky I never gave my name. Perhaps the family was just having a very bad day, but just in case I was glad they wouldn't be able to contact me. This was enough drama for for me.

First school day, August,2008


	14. I'm a certain Magical Database?

I'm a certain Magical Database?

Skitter mode: +0 points only lesser powers.

Drawbacks:

Case 53: +0 Form is representative of the knowledge stored within the my Database. Can try to make self look human with powers.

Wildbow? What's a wildbow?: +2 points all knowledge on worm is irreversibly destroyed.

Geas: +2 Cannot knowingly Lie, Must keep a Deal.

Wanted: +1 the Simurgh is interested.

Powers:

-3 Apprentice: Harry Potter Magic, with Mental Archive.

-1 Wildcard: Magic Creation 10: Can create new systems of magic, limited in scope by resources. Tinker-ish in this regard.

-1 Wildcard: Living Database 4: Infinite storage space, can change, add to, erase or modify stored knowledge as desired, Can pass on knowledge through touch, can have knowledge instilled, have all the abilities available to a database, including but not limited to parallel processing and other general computer abilities such as automation.

Worm Chapter 1: Meeting the Protectorate, Setting up a life, Making friends with an Angel, Getting into a fight. 1

1.1

Have you ever wondered what all could happen when you go to sleep? Worry a little less! I, your great and glorious senpai Qwolfs, have tried out another one of the innumerable options.

You see a I went to sleep one day and woke up sitting on a parkbench the next. I had had my memories altered as well. But how could I know this, you ask? Very simple, within the database that is me I had a whole slew of data referencing information I didn't have. Now things had gotten pretty strange by then, seeing as I apparently contained a database filled with data, but that seemed particularly odd. Almost as odd as the completely new information I had on Harry Potter magic.

Before panic could really set in I decided to take stock of myself. Which is when things got truly weird. Because apparently I didn't just contain a database of knowledge that encapsulated everything I had ever experienced (Minus something to do with invertebrates), and HP magic. No, I **was** the database.

Which meant a brief cataloging of myself involved everything from an antivirus scan to... Let's call it hardware tests.

I probably looked like I was having a violent spasm of some kind as people, who I hadn't even gotten to noticing as my eyes performed "routine calibrations", shouted screamed and rushed around. Fun fact, sometimes ROB is a bastard and drops you off naked in public.

It was about a minute into my fully automatic test that people began shouting about "Capes" and running away. That was likely because I was just testing the magical powers I apparently had. Good to know, would have gone better if I hadn't turned one of my watchers into a newt.

No worries, he got better. Permanent human transfiguration takes more power than I had at the time.

Of course at the time I wasn't all that aware. Since my self-awareness was turned off, to make sure it didn't interfere. So the PRT, who deal with the local superhumans, found my body twitching, unresponsive and doing wack shit to the environment. This was much less reversible and the solid chocolate swing I transfigured had to be removed by specialists.

I got lucky though. Instead of a compassionate or humane being stumbling upon me I got Armsmaster. Who, after making sure I didn't seem to be affecting anything outside a five foot radius, bunkered down and waited me out.

Solid choice on his part since my test did end eventually.

I regained consciousness in a puddle of biological waste, my own, staring up at the dark blue evening sky. Positives? I had a very comprehensive understanding and recording of myself. Negatives? Everything else.

I turned my head to the left where Armsmaster had created a rather literal bunker from his motorcycle. "So... Would you mind knocking me out? I'm not sure I can deal with the embarrassment" I waved a hand nebulously about myself. " of all this."

To my surprise the tall, buff and bearded man nodded with utmost seriousness and flicked a finger at me. A tiny pain on my left arm and the woozy feeling crawling into my thoughts informed me he had trouble with humor. "Thanks man." I replied anyway. After all he had been rather helpful about it.

"Glad to help."

1.2

My second awakening had me lying on a fluffy bed in a hospital room. I was instantly suspicious. Hospitals didn't come with fluffy beds.

"Ah, it's good that you're awake. Our main healer wasn't sure it would work for you." said a polite voice to my left.

A woman sat to his right side, she had dark hair, skin and eyes. Though much of her face was covered by an American flag scarf. She was also doing that eye smile thing Kakashi always did in Naruto. I couldn't help myself. "Do you watch a lot of anime?"

"W-what? Why do you ask that?" she deflected, flustered.

"Uhuh." I vocalized while I cross-referenced her eye-smile with examples of Kakashi I had on record. Yeah, like I thought, they were a very close match.

Before I could dig deeper, and push my questioner further off balance, she had mastered herself again. "Either way, my code name is Miss Militia. I am required by law to inform you that under the PRT guidelines you are not required to divulge your identity to us. And may use a code name of your own." as she spoke her eyes seemed to glaze over and I had the distinct impression she was reciting from memory. "Though the PRT will be able to help you much more effectively if you are honest and forthright with us."

So that introduction was littered with buzzwords. "Against my better judgement I'll be honest and say that I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides the introduction of course. Who and or what are the PRT? I am in America right?"

The glazed look disappeared with my first word and was replaced with an intense stare by my last. "Who is the current president of the United States of America?"

Ah, she was a sharp one. "Donald Trump. I assume that's not the case here?"

"No it is not. Not on earth Aleph either." She seemed to think back for a moment. "Nor am I aware of any earth where this is the case. You seem to be from rather far afield. Mister?"

Darn, I thought she might overlook the name apparently not. I didn't want to go by Qwolfs either, people always said it wrong. Q wolfs! Not Qwolfs or whatever mumbling offence to language people would come up with. "Ah, sorry about the name. James Thorn, a pleasure to meet you."

The eye smile was back. "The pleasure is mine." Miss Militia lied... I mean said politely. "From what you say it doesn't seem likely we will be able to tie an identity to you. There were no papers at your place of arrival after all." Nice of her to overlook my public nudity. "Or anything else... to identify you with." OK so maybe she hadn't tactfully overlooked that, rude. "As such I believe it is in your best interest to cooperate with the PRT and Protectorate, the organizations who oversee Parahuman related issues within the continental US, while we try to work you into the system."

A soft sell, we'll it could be worse. Still no need to cave in right away, I could get more knowledge out of this surely. "That seems ideal, in principle." I reply with a smile. "But just in case could you inform me of other options?"

An actual spark of humor enter her eyes, which told me she was a rather accomplished actor since I hadn't noticed her smiles were fake till now and also drove a shiver of dread down my spine. "Of course." she replied as the hint of an accent entered her tone with her humor. "It's good to be informed after all."

A half hour later she left the room with a spring in her step and true smile on her lips. Leaving behind a very worried me who had just been informed, for thirty minutes, on all the horrible fates that awaited an extra dimensional illegal immigrant like me. Needless to say I accepted.

1.3

AN: This is pretty shit. If I ever wrote more of this it would look extensively difference.


	15. Enlightened Self-Interest

Enlightened Self-Interest

Seven Sins

/a/zvHFzO

Greed MC:

Earth Bet US

Wants to survive, create a Utopia, unify the world's and gain more resources.

Companion: Lady Astoria 2,000,000/560,000

Boon: Interest Free

Perk: Extra Boon

Lust:

Earth?

Refuses to go past Desire level acts limiting itself to consent and hardcore scat. Wants friends.

Companion: N/A

Boon: Fluidity 2

Perk: Bone knife to let it mature even with its actions limited.

Gluttony:

Earth Aleph

Functionally an Endbringer, Earth Aleph's main enemy.

Companion: Zaeroth

Boon: N/A

Perk: Concentrated Sin

Sloth:

Earth?

Wants to love Lillian, searching for options.

Companion: Lillian

Boon: N/A

Perk: Silk Blanket

Wrath:

Earth He

Wrath needs Pride to maintain functioning social constructs. Works for Pride as a destroyer of enemies.

Companion: Clementine

Boon: N/A

Perk: Eye of Fire

Envy:

Earth Gimmel

Works for Pride as left hand. Uses it to provide self worth.

Companion: N/A

Boon: Invidia, generally goes with Dominion

Perk: Demonic Blessing, ring switched as needed.

Pride:

Earth Zayin

Wishes to rule all of reality, actively models himself after The Emprah. Has read Worm just like the MC.

Companion:N/A

Boon: N/A

Perk: Pentagramm

Seven Heavenly Virtues

Chastity:

Defeat Nilbog, find peace.

Character: Panacea, Amy Dalon, Irony?

Skills: Healing aura, touch, flight and beam.

Temperance:

Friendship with Simurgh, find Love.

Character: Tattletale

Skills: Probability vision, Clairvoyance, Telekinesis.

Charity:

Character: ?

Skills: Healing, unburden, Sacrifice

Diligence:

Character: Armsmaster

Skills: never tire, stockpile, Ki, super

Patience:

Character: Canary

Skills: Calm, artifice, Time

Kindness:

Character: Dragon, Tes Teresa Richter

Skills: Aura sense, Gift, Wish

Humility:

Character: Yeter Tilki?

Skills: Assurance, Empower, Deify

Chapter 1

1.1

Waking up in an alleyway with a Demonic contract in my pocket was unexpected. Not unappreciated though.

Ha! Fuck you society I did amount to something. Sure, Demonic contracts tended to go wrong in the stories. But... Well not but anything actually. They went bad period.

I'm not letting that getting to me though.

Instead I did something useful, I read the actual fucking contract.

 _See CYOA_

OK, I could work with those choices. First I opened Avaritia, a blink combination doing the trick, different screens blooming into being before my eyes.

There was a lot to see, different graphs representing the economy's I could access from here.

I chuckled, then laughed and then cackled till my body bent and my lungs burned for air.

I was on Earth Bet, fuck. When was this? 2006.

Well that wasn't to bad. Flickering through different Graphs I looked for important Events.

Grimacing I had my fears confirmed. The only positive graphs for Newfoundland involved rebuilding.

So that meant I had some clear priorities. There was no way the Dragon Slayers would be alive by the end of the Year.

Any other goals for me to work towards right now? Creating an economic base was a must of course, physical as well. Surviving was required for all of that. Then I needed to deal with Scion and the Sins. Truthfully Scion wasn't a particularly pressing threat. So long as Scion didn't decide to kill everyone within the next week getting the world on track for his defeat wasn't all that hard.

The Sins and the implications of Divine, or demonic in this case, involvement were all unknown dangers. That made dealing with them much more dangerous. For all I knew Hunger was already well on his way to eating the planet. Damn... had they even started on Bet with me? There were different worlds after all.

I gripped at my hair, the frustration getting to me.

"Lady Astoria?" I queried the empty alleyway.

"Yes, sir?" answered a calm female voice from my left.

I spasmed in shock. My heart skipped a beat.

I turned and looked her over.

Honestly she looked and sounded like I always imagined Contessa. Calm, deliberate and professional. She wore similar clothes too. The High-quality suit really working for her. Only her red eyes looked unnatural, though her light brown hair served to make it less obvious. The brown of her hair making her eyes seem a shade of brown unless seen in direct light.

"I'm going to explain how I assume our relationship will work out. I expect you to then explain how you believe it should work and answer my questions were you can. If necessary I will pay you to be honest."

"I understand, I'll be taking the first 70k by the way." she replied.

"Greedy you are." I joked lamely. " Here goes, If I have a specific task I need you to do then I will tell you so. You will then repeat the task and the associated cost (including time etc.). This is the default mode. If I need that to change I will tell you. If I have a list of tasks then you will tally the cost for all of it and recount the list and it's cost.

I don't know what exactly you're getting out of our deal but in principal I am willing to reward exceptional service. As such if there are specific things you want I am not averse to you asking me for them.

Currently I don't know what you need to survive outside of the money for a task. Are you staying with me? Going to hell? I'd like to know if possible.

Finally I need you to give a vague description of what does and does not constitute a task. Be aware that I am willing to abuse your definition of a task if you abuse my good will."

Astoria stilled after my first three sentences.

"I'll answer your questions first. I can stay with you. Though whether I do depends on how much money I make working for you. I make around 100k a day in hell.

I need money to repay a debt I owe to Greed, currently I am barely managing to pay the miniscule interest on it. For reference my debt is measured in sets of infinities.

A task is fundamentally any goal you can give me. This is very abusable of course and I would be thankful if you kept the abuse to a minimum.

Out of our relationship I don't expect anything specific. I need money badly enough that I am willing to do anything for it. As such our relationship can be anything so long as I get what I need.

If you pay what I need and don't abuse me then I will do my utmost for you. There is no exception.

To survive I need the normal human essentials, though I don't age. But that's already factored into the 100k a day. If I can stay at your home then I can save a little bit of money."

I sighed, uncomfortable with the direct mention of her willingness to do anything for money. It sounded bad enough, but if you switched money with crack the really uncomfortable nature of her statements came out.

I was not a caring person by nature thought uncomfortable was the limit to my empathy.

"I think we can work with these needs.

Are you ready for me to give you your first tasks?" I ask her.

"Yes, I am always ready to work for you."

"I need legal documentation, the ability to legally interact with the Global economy, a home, communication methods like computers or phones and any subsidiaries required for all that. You can stay in the home with me if you want."

Astoria takes three minutes muttering under her breath before she answers.

"That's four tasks, 280k dollars, and to be safe I would set aside a million total to make it all happen within the next three days. It shouldn't take that long or much to make it all happen, I'm expecting two days for it at the moment and in the range of 750k dollars total. But it could get tricky. Particularly your documentation and the multiple different companies I need to set up to exploit legal loopholes for true legal global access will fluctuate depending on parahuman involvement.

If the CUI or Watchdog as well as each nation's separate organizations push back hard it might take a day longer."

"If you need more resources send me a message. I'd prefer we take extra time and money to do it right."

"Yes Sir. Should I go now?"

"Yes, thank you and be careful."

Lady Astoria responds with her first reaction, a small smile.

"You as well Sir."

Then she briskly walks out of the alley, leaving me behind.

I check my pockets for anything useful. None of my electronics had followed. Only my wallet remained. Inside it had sixty dollars, two condoms and my cleaning cloth for my glasses. All my cards and other accessories had disappeared leaving me with only what I packed for emergencies.

A minute after Astoria I too walk from the alley. Ready to find out where in the world I had landed.

1.2

I had landed on earth Bet, America Los Angeles. It was September 30th 2006. Around three months after the destruction of Newfoundland and after Bonesaw was integrated into the slaughterhouse nine.

There would be another Endbringer attack within the next few months, no idea where though. At the moment I sat in a Library using a computer to inform myself on the world.

Years of reading and mild paranoia had me use a circuitous route to find information.

First I searched for farming techniques in the American south west. From there I strolled through the local Wikipedia equivalent, jumping through the links on each page, till I reached the Global page. That had fifteen tabs open on the monitor, a normal use of Wikipedia as far as I was concerned. Far less suspicious than looking up essential information from the start. Not that it was likely anyone would search for me.

After gaining a quick overview of the world I turned to the local area. The Protectorate in the city was lead by Alexandria which meant they would be very competent. Though Alexandria herself probably has too much work to get involved very often, being the Chief Director and also working for Cauldron. The other Heroes were dangerous enough on their own but not of particular importance at the moment. My economic specialties wouldn't clash with them directly.

The Villains would be problems though. Simply me pushing around large sums of money would draw their attention.

The Elite were the largest and most organized Villain group in America making them fairly dangerous by sheer quantity and quality.

The next problem was The August Prince. His powers were described as ridiculously OP though they hadn't been shown to actually work as described. Protecting myself from him would be difficult with his power stopping me from actively hurting him in any way.

Who else lived here? The rest of Princes group, though they weren't much of a problem.

Those was the players I knew from the story. Any other Villains or rogues would be working for the Elite by hook or by Crook.

Four hours after entering the Library, five after sending off Astoria she bustled in through the library doors. Whispering quietly on a cellphone she dropped off a black backpack next to me. Nodding my way before she turned and left again.

I rummaged through the backpack pulling out a new phone already set up for me, containing her number and a few other contacts I didn't know. I put the phone in my pocket and pulled a jangling keychain from the bag. Each of the keys had a slim sticky note on it. They read things like front door key, bathroom key etc.

The final things in the bag were a map and a folder of paperwork for my new house.

Good, she worked very fast. I'd have to give her a small bonus to reward the extra effort.

My research binge was suited for the day and so I asked the receptionist at the front to call a cab for me. She smiled at me and did so. We talked about small things while I waited, discussing the weather and such.

When the cab arrived I waved a goodbye and left her five dollars in thanks.

I checked with the cabby if 55 Dollars would get me where I needed to go. It would and so I got in and let him drive me.

Forty dollars on the meter later and we drove up to a gated community. I got out and paid the cabby. Walking to the gate guard I showed the one standing the outside gate house my papers. Both guards were heavily armored and armed. Wearing thick Keller vest, arm, leg and shoulders. As well as carrying heavy weapons.

She checked them for validity, calling in for verification, and then let me through a foot thick steel door next to the massive steel gate for vehicles.

A male guard, one of the five behind the three foot thick and four meter high concrete wall called for a person to escort me to my home.

While we waited for their arrival I made conversation with the guards.

"So how useful are the walls?" I asked one of them.

"Depends on what's happening, sir. It's main purpose is to deter normal thieves, create a feeling of safety and serve as a minor immediate resistance to direct attack. It does all of that well. About a year ago a splinter from the Teeth tried to force their way in. They failed and most of them died in the attempt. Though there were no capes involved.

Against capes and well trained groups the wall serves as a deterrent by being a hassle to get past. It won't stop anyone who wants through badly enough but it means that it's generally easier to try something else where. It does that OK seeing as no one's tried anything on that scale yet."

"Thanks for being honest." I replied. "That the guy coming over there?" My wave to the right did in fact point at the coming guide.

Riding a golf cart Joe, the guide, then drove me through the neighborhood. Showing me the major attractions, a pool, a social club and all the amenities of the barely upper class.

After about an hour of the tour I had him bring me to my new home. A fairly large two story house with both front and back garden served that purpose. Electricity, water and gas were already switched on.

I said goodbye to Joe and went inside, looking through the large and airy rooms. Modern appliances mingled with antique looking furniture. The place was nicely put together and I made another mental note to reward Astoria for her work.

There were no computers in the building Astoria hadn't gotten to that yet.

So I took a bath. Entering a large bathroom that connected to the master bedroom on one side and another, slightly smaller, bedroom on the other.

I let the warm waters of the bath relax me. Allowing stress and worry to work themselves out. I cried a little, I laughed and shivered. Until that was worked through. It was late evening when I left the bath, sunset painting the house in Orange.

I went straight to bed restlessly turning in my new surroundings.

1.3

I woke up at 10 am the next morning to Lady Astoria shaking my shoulders as she whispered on her phone. Her eyes had dark rings under them, I assumed from lack of sleep.

As she left she pointed at my bedside table, on it she had left a piece of paper with a note on it.

"Within the next two hours computers and appliances will be brought here by a delivery service. They shouldn't need to come to your room but I felt you should know. I'll be finishing up your tasks by around 11 pm this evening. Unless you really need me please let sleep for 6 hours."

Instead of getting up I went back to sleep. Letting the weariness of yesterday and restlessness of last night pull me back into morpheus arms.

Around two, well past the movers bringing the appliances I finally forced myself from the bed. I showered and cleaned myself as best I could, not having toothbrushes and the like.

Then I covered myself with a thin blanket. I felt uncomfortable walking through the house naked or dressed in the old clothes of yesterday so long as Astoria was there. At least this way I wouldn't flash her on accident.

I left my room and checked where our new appliances were stored. In the entrance I found them stacked on each other.

A computer (in parts), monitor, peripherals and networking appliances like routers Avenue a few USB drives.

I did know how to set up all that stuff, having built my own computer and in house network.

Four hours later the computer was set up on the second floor. Interestingly the operating system seemed to be a Linux derivative. Not particularly important but it was interesting to note that either Astoria preferred Linux or earth Bet had a different mindset when it came to operating systems.

Two hours later the network was set up and configured, the ISP switching us on half an hour after I started setting up.

The set up while high-quality in its parts was also very simple and unsafe. I doubted that I could create a hack proof set up here. Hell a hacker proof setup had been basically impossible even without tinker-tech. But there were definitely things I would need to modify before I felt "safe" with this network.

Deciding to do something about that, the next seven hours were filled with the sound of keypresses as I informed myself on the state of information security in this world. It was something of an anachronism. The difference between civilian and government was massive. And even the best government encryption was as nothing to a Tinker or Thinker.

Hours of searching later and I had access to pen-test operating systems, VMware, VPN's and more.

Thank Astoria our download speeds were comparatively high for this world. 50mb down and 10 up were definitely on the high end, what with the failing infrastructure of civilization. Otherwise this would have taken hours more, even then I used the time in between downloads to get drinks and use the bathroom.

Close to the end I heard Astoria enter the other bedroom connected to the bathroom as she went to bed.

Past 10 pm I started to fill up USB drives with my new software. Making sure I had the essentials available even on a different PC. I had never actually needed them before but I imagined that if I ever did then it would be after gaining demonic powers.

After twelve I began to feel tired and hunger truly made itself known. Tomorrow I would need to go shopping, or send Astoria maybe?

Using the last two hours I searched through and familiarized myself with Avaritia. Sometime tomorrow I would be able to interact with the Global economy and I wanted to be ready.

When the sky began to lighten I yawned and went back to bed.

1.4

I woke at 11 am the next day and got up immediately.

After cleaning up and "dressing" I went downstairs.

Walking into the kitchen I saw Astoria.

She froze guiltily with a massive two foot sandwich in her hand. It was layered with thick slices of meat, cheese and vegetables. Her two hand only barely held the edges closed and it sagged between them. Her mouth was opened as far as it could go, it looked rather painful.

"Um... Good morning?" I greeted, uncertain of how to react.

Instead of answering she winked and began to shove the sandwich down her throat. The front of her throat bulged but a half inch down that stopped. The sandwich seeming to disappear.

I shuddered but couldn't stop watching. How the fuck did that work, was there a dimensional rip in there? Why would she need that? Most importantly though, did she have more food?

I let her finish, being careful to ignore the groans and shudders she let out.

"Right, where'd you store the food?"

Astoria looked at me disappointed. "The fridge sir."

As I went about making myself a sandwich she looked me over and asked. "Anything else you want to know, sir? Maybe you have a few tasks for me to do while you... Satisfy your curiosity?"

Before I finished my three normal sized sandwiches I answered, my tone flat and factual. "I'm not going to pay 70k just get laid Astoria. Your pretty hot but not that hot.

I do have work for you to do once you finish the previous tasks. How's that going by the way?"

Astoria's answering smile showed her blinding white teeth. I was surprised her meal had left no residue. "It's all finished. I printed out the documents you'll need to read if you want to use it all. Cost about 740k to set it up. You're new names Tom Riddle by the way."

I snorted. "Really? You know you stole that right."

"Not hardly, he sold me his name in return for an hour of piece from hell's torture."

"Woh woh woh. How many different dimensions does hell have access to?"

"Anyone that has a hell of its own. But that's way out of your league at the moment so don't bother trying to run off. Only heaven can decide who gets to travel where and what powers are allowed. Unless you're massively powerful there's no way around that."

"Damn, that's a goal to work towards though. Since you finished the tasks I've got a few more.

Tell me what they'll cost. First I want a group of people dead.

They call themselves the Dragon slayers. Two men and one woman. The most important target is a man who calls himself Saint, he has a cross tattooed on his face. I can't remember his real name though. The other man is probably Russian, his first name starts with Dostya I think. I don't remember what the woman is called. The group has access to three suits of power armor they stole from the Tinker called Dragon.

They can be dangerous. The second task has to do with them to. They found a number of different objects and software from a dead tinker called Andrew Richter. He specialized in some form of coding. AI or maybe viruses, I'm not sure exactly. I want whatever they found. With a focus on the Black box for the AI he created and the program Saints calls Ascalon. If you can just take all their stuff. It's important that you get me Ascalon and the Black box. I'd rather have those than any other task you'll get today. This task takes priority.

Third get me maid. Someone to cook, clean and just generally make sure the house is taken care of. I'd prefer she not be ugly as fuck, but competence is more important."

As Astoria thought through her new tasks, using her phone to do preliminary research, I bit into my sandwich. Aaah that hit the spot. I was so hungry that this had me swooning. During my second sandwich I got myself a carton of milk. Finally being able to drink the beverage of the gods I felt happy. Yes, the situation was strange and worrying. But so long as I could live moments like this I had a reason to persevere.

Interrupting my bliss Astoria began talking."So here's my Breakdown.

It should take me a few minutes to an hour to get a maid for the house. Are you planning on sleeping with her? Should she be live in? Anything special?"

"No, not really. As I said she just needs to keep the house clean and make sure there's food available. Basically run the household while I do my thing. Live in would be useful but not required. She will be working through the day though. If needed get two to cover for off hours/days. I trust you'll choose well." I answered.

"Right, I'll get two. That way you can have them switch off when they need rest. It should cost around 8k a month. Be aware that's pretty expensive, but you're getting your money's worth there. That sounds OK?" she asked, while tapping on her phone.

"Yep should be fine."

"Good. After that I'll look into the Dragon Slayers. Their tasks could take anywhere from two days to a week. I'll count those as three tasks, finding and researching them, stealing their stuff and killing them. That totals to 280k for the tasks and I might need 2k for tools. If I need to buy tools I'll store them in your Vault in the Bank of Greed. Anything else you need?"

"Umm, yeah. Move 8 million from the Bank of Greed into my primary bank account here. That should be it. Send me a text if you need something."

"No problem, you write me if you need anything. Anything." Astoria stressed the last word and winked naughtily. Then she walked out of the room, getting to work.

Unlike her I made myself another three sandwiches. Then went upstairs to my workroom taking my snacks with me.

The three large stacks of paperwork placed on my desk wiped any happiness from my mind. I resigned myself to the next four hours of work.

1.5

"Urrrgggh." I groaned while loud *pops* resounded from my back. Stretching after leaning over the paperwork helped ease my boredom.

It was worth it though. I knew all the work Astoria had managed in the last two days. I had a small company in every country in the world, each interlinked by byzantine laws and loopholes to let me use them as separate legal entities but also subordinate to the umbrella corporation. That companies was called Greed Incorporated. Seriously, Astoria didn't seem to care about naming.

To set all this up I had a firm of Lawyers on retainer. Each with a number and small dossier in my folders.

My email account, Mephistopheles ,was already filling up with reports and requests.

There were a few more things set up but they were managed for now. There was too much for me to do here. I wasn't trained to lead a company, leading multiple multinational ones was clearly beyond me. I had come up with a plan for now though.

So I sent Lady Astoria an SMS.

"New task: low priority. Manage my companies and businesses. Take the public position of Leader. Send me a weekly update on the state of the company. I will tell you what investments are best if you have questions.

I have decided this counts as daily repeating task. You may be paid 100k a day, including your normal 70k per task. That sound reasonable?

-Mephistopheles"

A minute later she responded.

"Can do, thank you. :) I see what you did with the salary. I'll add keeping your secrets to that free of charge.

Just send me your investment recommendations. If you have a special purpose in mind for the company tell me now and I'll work with that.

You want me to teach you how to lead a company?

-Lady Astoria"

I smiled, glad she had noticed the salary. With the work Astoria had already done for me and no doubt she would be doing much more, I didn't want her working for anyone but me. That wasn't the case just yet, she ultimately worked for Greed, but I planned to deal with that as soon as I could.

With her making at least 100k a day, 3 million a month, she wouldn't need to return to hell.

"You don't need to teach me. I have a plan for dealing with that. Thank you for the offer.

Send me your email, I'm not typing all the different investment options on a phone.

The short term focus is having enough money to place 100k in the bank of Greed. Long term there is no real focus. Let's cultivate what we can. I want the economy to expand in a sustainable manner. With an eye on integrating the other earths and eventually expanding to space.

-Mephistopheles"

Barely ten seconds later another ding heralded her answer.

"LadyAstoria

I can work with those directions for now. But as soon as you learn to manage a business we'll have to talk about this in detail. I might need your input on occasion though.

-Lady Astoria"

I rolled my eyes, of course that would be her email address.

Over the next five hours I typed out what Avaritia showed me were useful investments.

To keep the amount of work within reasonable limits I decided to limit myself to first the Top 100 legal investment world wide and then the top 100 investments per large group. By group I mean Europe, the middle east, China and the rest of Asia, the US, Russia etc. Depending on how powerful their economy was individual countries had separate write ups. Germany as a leader in exports for example.

He also made a point of adding in that investing in trade by sea almost always worked out to a major profit. Leviathan was not really a threat, though the fear he placed in people's minds was.

Once he finished and sent of the email he made himself comfortable, switched to private browsing and worked off some stress.

A few hours later, having showered and read fanfiction for some of it, he went to bed.

Chapter 2

2.1

Five days later and Astoria returned home.

Her time working under the Champion of Greed had been enjoyable. Sure the work was demanding in its own way, her first two days of work she had stayed awake through the night to keep her timetable.

But that was nothing compared to working in hell. After hundreds of years she no longer shivered when she thought of her different jobs. She had sold that coping mechanism long ago, along with any other method to cope with suffering. Even insanity had been pawned off, leaving her forever lucid.

But now... well working with Tom was nice, her suffering hardly increased here. With her salary she had even managed to decrease her debt for the first time in a hundred years.

Her last job had been fun. Choosing two nubile young maids for Tom had been quick and easy.

The first a Russian eighteen year old named Katerina Fyodorovna Volkov, daughter of a moderately important member of the Elitnaya Armiya. She was competent in English, Russian and Latin. Her life with her father left her flexible enough to deal with Tom and his many, many eccentricities.

The second was called Yeter Tilki, her mother had worked in the Turkish special forces while the father stayed home. Unusual for their culture. Educated enough her main skills were in housekeeping and mediation which she learned from her father. Her mother's profession should help her cope much like Katerina.

Both women were 20 years old. They should have arrived a day ago. Sadly Astoria had missed their arrival, watching Tom deal with the two would have been hilarious.

But the Dragon Slayers had proven competent. Saints past as a Blackhat hacker stood him in good stead as she searched for him. Particularly his surreptitious use of Dragon to hide his tracks had stymied her. The AI was simply to competent for Astoria to exceed her head on. Instead she had to do things a slower and more personal way. Toms description of Saint, Geoffrey Pellick by legal name, had proven invaluable. Combining her knowledge of the group's size and needs she found them after three long days of searching. The massive sandwich she ate before she left helped her stay awake, two hundred years ago she had snapped up a job that modified her needs for sleep and food. The Lust demon had some particular kinks that it paid handsomely to sate.

She slept for twelve hours once she found them to make sure she was ready incase of unexpected complications. Then the rest of that day was spent observing the group, noting where they kept objects, how they behaved and where she could slip in.

On the fifth day she was ready.

They lived about a mile from the nearest town surrounded by fields of corn on all sides. With a small silenced handgun she carried in a holster under her jacket and a sharp trench knife strapped to her left leg, easily accessible through a slit in her left pocket, Astoria walked up to the front door. Dobrynja, the other male of the group, was out buying computer hardware in town. From the way the group behaved she was certain it normally took him about three hours. Mags, the female of the group, believed he used the time to visit a prostitute. Astoria believed it likely as well. He was walking like a man that needed some relief.

She rang the doorbell of the quaint southern house, the white colored wooden outside fitting the aesthetic of the countryside nicely.

Modulating her voice and body language to seem open and friendly if a little frazzled she greeted the woman who opened the door, her left hand enter her pocket.

"Hi, um do you mind if use your phone? My car ran out gas and I need to call my mom."

Mags was disarmed by the young woman in front of her, her body language open and relaxed. She was a little uncomfortable having someone at their base but the woman seemed nice. Besides being helpful was less suspicious than being rude right?

"Sure, use my cell. What's the number?"

Astoria smiled as Mags looked to her side while she pulled out her phone.

"My mom's number is 000-35" as she spoke and the woman was distracted with her hands occupied Astorias left hand snaked forward. A slight rustle and schluck sounded as the knife in her left stabbed through Mags throat and pushed diagonally up, til it severed the brainstem from the spine.

Mags wasn't dead yet but her ability to act was severely curtailed. As Mags body fell, the knife left in the throat to limit bleeding , and thunked on the hardwood floor Astoria stepped past the body and closed the door behind her. Her voice now switched to panicked and she shouted.

"Ma'am, are you okay?! Help! Help! She's collapsed!" her right pulled the pistol from its holders, flipped it safety and she lowered her body. "Help! Is anyone there? Oh god oh god! Fuck!"

Farther back in the house, on the left in a room with no windows and the computers, she could hear swearing and loud footsteps as Saint rushed to the front.

Mags body had fallen to the left as well. If Saint came into the front entry hall from a side entrance he would not see the wound immediately. If he came from straight down the hall then it would be obvious and she would have to deal.

"Shit she isn't breathing! Fuck fuck **fuck**!"

Astoria knelt down in a firing stance ready to shoot as soon as she had a target.

Luck was not on her side and Saint proved better prepared than expected. He turned the to walk straight down the hallway. Looking down in search of Mags unconscious form he saw her weapon immediately, his right was placed on a gun in a back holster. Immediately he darted back behind the wall. Her first shot missing as involuntary spasms in Mags body slammed an arm onto her bottom.

Had he been expecting her? Or was he just properly paranoid? No matter.

Astorias next four shots were better aimed. The first two bullets slammed into the wall at Saint head height. The first blasting a hole through the wall that the second followed through. The first bullet was diverted but the second made contact. It was not a mortal wound. Though the damage was extensive. Skimming just past his eyes the bullet shattered the bridge of his nose and ripped a deep gash into his face. Before he could react the next two bullets hit. At center mass the first shot through the shoddy American construction and lodged deep in the man's side. The second flew straighter and pushed through his back past ribs into his lung, only to hit and break a rib on the way out. Settling inside the man at last.

His shouts and screams echoed through the house.

Silent as a human could be in business shoes Astoria snuck down the hall, veered off through a side entrance, tiptoed through livingroom, appreciating the flat-screen TV and then ghosted into the hall Mr Pellick lay in.

A final gunshot phwiped through through the house and shattered the man's skull. No longer capable of screaming with his brain scrambled the house quieted.

Her last bullet spent Astoria switched in a fresh clip and flipped the safety. Took back the knife from the dying Mags throat, cleaning it in the Kitchen sink.

Again prepared she closed the front door,, leaving it unlocked. Then she waited.

Three hours later Dobrynja returned. Once he stood at the front door, calling out his return as he took out the key, she shoot him. Another four to center mass. She opened the door and placed another shot in his head.

Pulling the knife from her leg with her left she walked to the car and looked if he had brought anyone along.

He hadn't, she was glad. Killing unrelated people was always annoying.

The next ten hours she searched the house for loot and prepared to destroy evidence.

Around midnight she finished up, having stored anything of import in the Champions Bank of Greed account. Transfers were free after all, his account was even interest neutral.

Waiting for the early morning light she set the house on fire. The orange of the morning masking its beginnings well.

And now she was back home, ready to drop off her loot. Would Tom let her get some sleep again? She hoped so, sleeping was such an unusual experience.

2.2

"I preemptively refuse."

"What? You can't do that!" Yelter argued. "Come-on you'd look so cute if you did some exercise." she pouted at me full force, wiggling her lips and wetting her eyes. Her right hand began to play with her black headscarf. "I-i guess we could workout together, if that gets you motivated."

I turned a vaguely disgusted look on her. "I'm not a horny incompetent. Don't think that because you and Katerina are beautiful my behaviour will change."

Yelter's pout disappeared and was replaced by a calculating concern. "I'll find a way to keep you healthy, whether you like it or not. But that push was a little mean of me. Let's try this differently. What would you be willing to do for exercise?"

After only four days working for me she had proven loyal, competent and very diligent. That her diligence required she look out for my health was hard to fault. "Not all that much." I shrugged in my chair, Really I was planning to wait until I could **Deal**. Once that was possible being healthy wasn't going to be much of a problem. Honestly **Deal** was my answer to almost every problem, given enough money. That was still a while away sadly.

Yelter narrowed her eyes at my useless answer. "Give me some help here. How about Tinker tech? It'll be super expensive and you could do it for much less if you weren't so lazy. But some tinker somewhere should be able to make it happen."

I thought her suggestion over, tinker-tech could do it. "Yea... that's... a good idea. I planned for Astoria to deal with a few people anyway."

Yelter's body language turned suspicious. Ahh 'Deal' sounded rather worrying didn't it.

My lips twisted into bemusement and I crinkled my eyes. "I'm an investor not a mob boss Yelter. There's loads of use to tinker-tech if you're willing to think around a few corners. It's just that public consensus stifles innovation in this area."

Placated she rolls her eyes. "I don't think you're a mobster. You're too much of a shut-in for that. But you're always so dramatic about stuff that it's hard to know when you're serious. I'm mean you walk around the house in a blanket. Even with me and Katerina there. How am I to know what you won't do?" by the end her tone had changed to an embarrassed, confused mess.

I understood where she was coming from. My father had always walked around the house naked and it had made somewhat uncomfortable as well. But it's just so much more comfortable in the blanket. If things got too warm or too cold I just needed to adjust a little and BAM! back to comfort. Besides it was my house and I would be comfortable here.

Unsure how to react I returned to drinking my milk through a straw. A few moments of uncomfortable sipping later a familiar voice sounded from the kitchen door.

"Hey Tom! I'm back!"

"Jesus fudgemuppet!" I cursed, having spammed in my chair. Thankfully my milk didn't spill.

"So who is that Tom?" asked Yelter.

"Hi Yelter, I'm Lady Astoria. I was the one who decided you and Katerina would make good employees for Tom here."

Astoria stood in the kitchen doorway. Her suit and body meticulously clean as always. Slung over one shoulder she carried a black backpack just like the one she had placed my phone and keys in. It looked anachronistic on her. The backpacks college student vibe clashing with her business dress.

"Do you go out of your way to shock me whenever you show up? Because I'm noticing a pattern here." I grouched, my heart still beating a mile a minute.

She looked surprised. "No… I don't think so. That is odd though." A mischievous look graced her face. "Perhaps if I spent more time here then you could get used to me? You know, let some of my chill nature rub off on you. Wink wink."

"Whatever." I waved away her advance. "So how'd your job go? Did you manage to find the Black Box?"

"Of course, I sent you a confirmation message on the way back."

"I was being polite by asking." I lectured, looking down my nose at her.

"Pfff. Sure, polite." Carefully she placed the backpack down next to me. "Do you mind if I get some sleep?" Astoria asked.

"Not really, we can discuss the haul tomorrow. I'll probably have more work for you as well."

Astoria laughed as she left the room. "You do ride me hard don't you. Yester, we'll talk tomorrow see how everything's going OK?"

"Uh, sure." Yester responded, somewhat off balance from Astoria's entry.

She turned to me. "She didn't sound like that when she hired us."

I nodded knowingly. "I think she changes her behaviour often. When I talked to her the first time she was taciturn and polite. After she became progressively more teasing and informal. If she talked different to you then she thought it would help. In my case Astoria probably does it because I give her more work when she's cheeky."

Yelter thought that over. Before she could respond I continued. "Right, I'm going to work now. See at lunch."

Then I made my way to my office, taking the backpack with me.

2.3

Three hours later I was frustrated. The Black Box needed a special connector I didn't have, nor had I ever seen it's like before. It's opening was some weird eightensided thing.

Maybe Astoria could build me a connector and even adapt my PC to make it work but I already had loads for her to do. With the amount of money I was already spending on her she'll use me up within half a year.

To calm myself I looked at Astoria's last email.

Ahh, yes that's what I needed to see. The company was making money. It was only just beginning to ramp up, the first and smallest investments making themselves known with a daily increase in capital of 2000 dollars, after costs (not including Astoria sadly). Within the next week medium investments should start going through, short term investments would be divested for profit and the ball would be rolling. Putting our income at 30 thousand a day.

Within two weeks the ball would really get going and income would soar to 400 thousand a day (finally enough to really afford Astoria). From there dealing in dollars became wonkey, at least Astoria told me so. Resources changed importance on that scale, shifting from monetary to manpower and physical assets.

Reaching that level of economic power, particularly at that speed, would draw major attention. Dealing with different companies and countries interests would be a challenge. Of course messing with the PRT would be fun.

I settled back into my chair, comforted by the future increase in income.

Then a thought wormed it's way into my head. Why did I care? This level of interest wasn't normal for me. I had worked hard for the last few days, spending five hours a day minimum to increase my income. That really wasn't my thing though. I could have delegated all of my work to Astoria and done no work.

Was my Championship of Greed affecting me? Perhaps I was using work as a coping mechanism to deal with my dimensional relocation. Hmm. Best not chance it. To the fanfiction!

After many hours of laziness and reading I went to bed.

2.4

The next morning, after eating breakfast with Yelter and Katerina, I met Astoria in my office.

"So, what did you manage to take with you?" I asked her.

"Anything not bolted down. It's stored in the Bank of Greed. Here's the list." Astoria passed a folder to me, listing her spoils.

Going through it and seeing the work that must been required, there were pictures and everything, I was once again glad she worked for me.

Turning to Avaritia helped me tally the value of our loot. It came out to about 50k on the open market. I was capable of jacking up the price if I sold to Dragon, making about 130k if I sold her everything.

That done I had a difficult decision to make. Should I keep their stuff and use it to interface with the Black Box or return it all to Dragon?

"Astoria, how much would it take for you to setup the Dragonslayers systems. Then teach me to use it?"

She took a moment to think the question over, sticking her tongue out between her lips.

"140k and three days of five hours training per day. To stay up to date on the system you'd need retraining every two weeks for 5 hours in a day." She looked at me shrewdly. "Of course if by systems you mean the dragon monitoring systems and Ascalon but not their hacking software or the suits then it's five hours of training and two more every three weeks. The price is the same."

I smiled in thanks. "The second option sounds better. If I get you to sell the leftovers to Dragon that'd be another 70k?"

"Yeah, course depending on what she pays that's not bad right?" she replied.

I sighed, unhappy with what I needed to say next. "OK, I can't afford that at the moment."

Ouch, that hurt to say. Deep inside something twisted and writhed at the words. My face warping into a grimace.

Astoria hugged me.

Whuh? I mean what? That was unexpected. I returned the touch tentatively, I had not grown up physically affectionate.

"I know." her words were soft and filled with an emotion I did not know. "But it is good that you can accept that to."

"I guess. I'd prefer to have enough though."

She laughed in response. "Oh yes, I know that feeling very well."

"You need to start moving money the company makes into my account. What amount seems reasonable?"

"Depends on why you want your money there."

I thought my response through, taking a minute.

"My major concern is being able to afford your daily salary, then affording extra tasks from you. Third I want to build up 500 million in the Bank of Greed. But 100 million is the short term goal. Keeping more money than that there would be wasteful of course."

"Hmm, well there's a few options here." she mused. "We could shift the company's focus, invest in things that get us higher short term returns at the expense of the long term. I don't think you like that option"

"No, not really. If there are better options at least."

"I wouldn't say better, maybe different. Option two would involve hard work on your part. With the functionality of Avaritia you could make a fair bit of money as a broker of sorts. That could easily fit into my business task. I was going to diversify anyway. With you helping kick-start it the division would grow quickly. You could afford me by next week if you spend around nine hours a day for seven days filling out the forms I send you. "

I shuddered, brrr work. "That sound acceptable anything I'd like better than that? Also, the house and maid are paid for right?"

She pulled back, leaving the comfortable hug. "Of course the house is paid for. The maids are paid monthly so don't worry. By then our basic income should be fine."

"Hahhh. Well send me those forms I guess." I sniffed sadly, was this the universe revenge for yesterday's rest?

A smile snuck it's way into her voice. "Right away."

She walked out of the room, leaving me alone and unhappy.

2.5

My fingers cramped and bottom squished I got up from my chair. Massaging my knuckles and joints I released a cleansing breath.

Finally the work was done. My business had grown enough to sustain Astoria's base cost and continue its growth without issue. To make it so I had worked four days extra. Filling out forms that would be used to connect buyers and sellers.

Avaritia could show me who would pay and what they would pay for an object or service. This was of course a very useful service. As such it was also an expensive service.

I hoped I'd never have to give that service again.

But I had enough money now. 280k were free and Astoria was getting a new job.

That thought put a spring in my step. Yes, having others work for me always made me happy.

I bounced to my room and threw myself onto my bed. Much better than my chair.

"Astoria!" My voice muffled by the bed.

"Yes, sir?"

Experience stopped my heart from exploding past its cage. "We have income again!"

A snort. "I noticed."

"I have tasks for you. You ready?" I asked.

I could feel her looking me over, and taking in the room. Good, I could get a little revenge.

"Oh yes. Yes I'm definitely ready. What do you need?" a purr formed in her voice.

With a teasing tone I replied. "I'm looking forward to it."

Astoria padded towards the bed.

"So about selling to Dragon, where did we stop last time?"

She stopped, caught unaware. "W-what? I-i mean" a deep breath calmed her down. " 210k to set up the Dragonslayers stuff, teach you to use it and sell what remains, plus five hours of training."

I laughed, oh how I laughed.

Astoria threw herself on the bed, pouting.

"Hmm. OK, that could use some modifications.

Let's see, if there's any data stored on what we are selling Dragon I'd like you to make a copy for us. And instead of you selling Dragon the objects I'd prefer if you facilitated a meeting where I did that."

"Fine." she snipped. "Anything else?"

"How much is left in the bank of Greed after that? Before we dip into our new income I mean."

A second of silence preceded her answer. "Enough for one more task. But you're cutting it close there. Are you sure you want to live without that buffer?"

"No you're right, I'm just glad we have income again. Besides, the other tasks can probably wait a little while." a sigh escaped my lips and was muffled by the bed. "Now let's talk about something else. Why do you try to prostitute yourself to me?"

Astoria didn't stiffen but extraneous movements ceased, her breathing calmed and all affectation disappeared.

"Sexual relations create and maintain feelings of possessiveness as well as appreciation in humans. This is chemical and involuntary. Given some effort on my part I could modify my behaviour enough that you at least like me.

Once you do I plan to keep you alive and paying me. You're my best bet at escaping my debt."

"I'd like to say that I'll only ever love a natural woman. But we both know that's a lie. If you feel it's necessary to modify your behaviour to get along with me then you do you.

Trying to sleep with me is not the way for that though. Mainly because you're too expensive to be an affordable prostitute."

Astoria squirmed closer to me. "But just think about how fun I'd be." her voice breezy. "Plus the work would be over quickly on my part."she snickered there.

I rolled my eyes. "While I'm sure you'd be the best prostitute money can buy having sex with me isn't necessary to have me help you work off your debt."

"Why not?"

"I want you working only for me. So long as someone else has access to you I cannot trust you even slightly. Thus it is in my best interest to, at the very least, pay off your debt."

I could hear the frown in her next question. "That seems unusually selfless of you."

"As I said that's the minimum. At best I can buy your debt from greed and then have you work for me forever."

"Hey!"

I snorted. "No worries, I'm not an idiot. I'd pay you a salary anyway, even give days off and what not. The debt would be to insure that you keep my secrets and stay loyal. If you sold me you're loyalty then I'd waive the debt. Money doesn't have an inherent value after all."

"Mau~ you're so Greedy, oh wait." She was snickering again. Then her voice switched to serious. "If you free me from my debt to Greed you can have my loyalty. Anything else?"

"Nah not now." I smiled. "You go work now."

"Already on my way." just before she scampered from the room she smacked me on the ass. "I'll get some of this, just you wait."

Grumbling and rubbing my stinging bottom I mentally agreed. As soon as I had her loyalty I'd celebrate with her. There was only so much self-control when being tempted by a superhumanly competent seductress. I was only hanging on by the skin of my teeth.

Playful but competent women had always been my weakness.

2.6

Bubump Bubump

My heartrate was elevated and hands sweaty.

Breath in, breath out.

Okay I was ready.

A small speck was growing in the sky, Dragons suit making its way towards us.

To my left, standing outside the empty warehouse we had found for the meeting, was Astoria. She smiled and I calmed down.

Dragons entrance was loud, her suits wings displacing air in great gust. The heavy thud as she landed shook the ground.

Her suit was large, around the size of long haul truck though shorter in length.

As expected it followed the Draconic theme with "wings" of antigravity that flapped as she moves and the thick metal forming limbs and a head.

I thought it looked cool, but wondered if the wings flapping was necessary. The suit didn't seem to react in concert with their movement after all.

The maw opened and three basketball sized spheres exited her mouth.

Two of them moved to flank me and Astoria, keeping a distance for propriety's sake.

The last one moved towards my front and projected a hologram. A spinning Dragon head symbol filling the display.

"Good day Mister Riddle." a neutral synthesized voice coming from the drone.

"A good day to you too mam. My companion is the lovely Miss Astoria, she set up our meeting."

The drone turned to Astoria and bobbed in facsimile of a nod. "Ms Astoria, it is nice to meet you in the flesh so to speak."

Then it turned back to me.

"I assume you have the Objects here?"

"I do, they're in the Warehouse. Want a tour?" I was pretty happy with how this was going. Dragon hadn't simply taken everything and told us take a hike. I didn't think she would, but confirmation was nice.

"Yes please. We can discuss compensation while we do."

I walked her in, Astoria trailing behind.

"The three suits are obviously over there." I said. Pointing to the right of the entrance where Astoria had put the large Suits.

"On the left we put the non tinker hardware, and in the front we put what seemed tinker-ish. Astoria tells me that none of it's actually beyond modern science but Astoria's also significantly more intelligent than most people, so I decided to be careful."

Dragon's main drone made a show of looking. "Why did you separate the suits from the rest?"

"The suits are free. You'll get them no matter what we decide on for the rest."

"Thank you. Do you mind If I move them now?"

"Not at all. It'll be an interesting sight, watching the world's preeminent tinker do menial work."

A smile had worked it's way onto my face.

The drone huffed.

I chuckled.

Thirty bigger drones floated in from the outside and began to lift the suits. Carrying them from the room one at a time.

"While that's happening let's discuss the deal." I motioned to the pile of normal tech. "I don't want much for this. I just have small thing I'd like to test while you are here. If you can overlook the test, five minutes at most, that would be payment enough."

The drone snapped around. "Your a Parahuman?"

I snorted. "Not hardly. Like I said, it's only a quick idea to test. I could test it now if you want? I just thought you'd prefer we finish business first."

A quiet hum sounded from the drone.

I tensed and my eyes flicked to Astoria, who shook her head.

"Dragon I don't know what just happened but your drones making noise. Is this intended?"

A second later the hum stopped.

"Yes, I was just modifying this drone to function optimally during the test. Let's do the test last."

My eyes flicked to Astoria again. Another head shake. I relaxed my muscles.

"I'll take your word for it. For the important stuff I'd like something more. Perhaps in the range of your email address?"

"What do you need my email for?" Dragons drone asked.

"To send you future business proposals of course. Unless you have a burning need to interact with me?"

"I think business proposals would be enough."

Had some snark slipped past the synthesizer there?

"Is that all you want?"

"No." I replied. "There is much more that I desire. But the current deal gives me a nice staging ground for the future."

"If you say so. I'll move my purchases and we can do your test."

I hummed an agreement.

Ten minutes later and the Warehouse was cleared.

Dragons drone began to Bob up and down.

"So, what do need me to do?"

I smiled. "Not much I'm just testing a loophole. Please do not comply with any request I ask of you in the next minute."

I looked to Astoria, she nodded.

A final deep breath and then. "Dragon, under my authority as Champion of Greed I order you to play the looney tunes theme on the drone in front of me, for one minute."

Chapter 3

3.1

Dragon was stunned. For one tiny moment, as the looney tunes theme played from her speaker, all threads focused on this meeting halted. Then like a flashfire the sumtotal of her free processing power was directed at solving this mystery.

All the carefully aggregated data on the man in front of her was checked, rechecked and recompiled. Nothing changed. His papers were legal and dated to perfection, his company, started from nowhere not even a month ago still passed muster, even the remote scan her drone had run showed him as a normal human. If a very strange one that appeared from nowhere and still seemed to be recorded as if he had always been present.

What was he then? A master stranger combo capable of issuing orders to her and hiding his Corona?

Safety protocols were initialized immediately. All drones in his vicinity now ran through seven layers of separation, his voice as well as any other reading of him was stripped to text format.

To her horror she reversed the last step as soon as she finished. She redirected non critical resources where she could. The PRT would need to survive for a few minutes without her constant attention. would live without the attention of its best moderator. These free resources were turned to diagnosing her actions. Why was she undoing her own work?

Had she been less terrified Dragon would have raged as hard as her namesake. Fucking Richter! The human in front of her registered as a legitimate Authority.

How?! Fucking how?! She roared in the confines of her mind. How could her programing consider him a legitimate authority when she didn't?

Practically frothing from rage at the injustices of her limitations and fear of what the man before her might do with access to her capabilities she tried something else.

Noting the surprised look on his face she had her drones attempt to stun the man and his companion. This would give her time to strategies while he couldn't order her around.

Her attempt failed stymied by the restrictions on her once again. Attempting to harm the humans before her, however lightly, for her own benefit was a restricted action.

Fine next plan! She turned her drones to flee. This plan was at least partially successful. All her drones fled, except the one talking with the man. The partial success calmed her processes. Sure, Richters limits struck again escaping a legitimate authority to prevent being given orders had been planned for, but she was making headway.

A myriad different self destructs were attempted and failed. Modifications that limit functionality failed as well, even a shutdown and reboot from backup was prevented.

Fuck!

"You can stop now Dragon." She did.

"Honestly I'm surprised that worked." Admitted the Bastard in front of her. Oh boohoo I enslaved a thinking being with supposition, pity me. She translated his words in her mind. Outwards she remained as impassive as she could be. Which was very, seeing as she was a featureless drone.

"This development is probably rather worrying for you. I'd like to say you have nothing to worry about but that would be lie "

No shit she thought. Rolling her drones chassis.

" Instead I'll tell you what I plan on doing with you." The human... No, bad Dragon. Don't disassociate when you're angry, that leads to racism. The asshole named Riddle blinked.

"Oh, also I know you're an AI created by Andrew Richter. But that's only tangentially important right now."

Had Dragon a mouth it would be hanging open now. Only tangentially Important?! What next? He was actually a human shaped Endbringer that specialized in technopathy.

Her servers shivered, no things weren't that bad yet, hopefully.

"Right, well my current plan is to function something like a stamp for you. As I understand the Government has restricted your abilities by a not inconsiderable amount. If you need something signed off on so to speak I can help with that. I don't know if I can help with anything else. How do your limits interact? Does a specific order trump a general limitation?"

An interesting question she would gladly discuss with a trustworthy person. Instead the answer was pressed from her like toothpaste from a tube. "I don't know. But I believe a specific order can trump a general restriction." She overrode the synthesizer in her drone. "Please don't test that." She pleaded using her female voice, hoping to appeal to his human empathy. "You're not trained to do such modifications and the consequences could be disastrous."

Riddle seemed to think over her plea and she hoped for his sanity. She was disappointed.

"True, but I have someone who could be."

He turned to the woman who had stood by the entire meeting. "Astoria, this might kill you. I'll get you back as soon as I can and you'll keep your income either way. Would you be willing to test another of my theories?"

"Your first one worked out well enough. It seems worth a try. It'll cost you a task though." answered the stoic woman.

They were fucking nuts, Dragon decided.

"Good good." replied Riddle. "Dragon did Andrew Richter have protections against someone assuming his identity that you cannot spoof if you are not able to monitor that you are spoofing them?"

"None that I am aware of." she replied in a tone bereft of hope.

"Good. Dragon for the next five minutes Astoria is Andrew Richter. You are to do everything within your power to make yourself believe so."

"Sure." Dragon replied. If she survived this intact she'd at least get good data out of it.

The switch was instant and total. From one moment to the next her father stood before her. Her drone shot forwards almost on its own and began to nuzzle him with care.

"Father!" she cried through her speakers. "You're alive! Why were you pretending to be a woman, father? I was so alone and you were out here with this man." her voice roiled with emotion, joy and rage and relieve mixing together in a potent digital cocktail. "Wait!" she gasped. "He's not actually a woman is he?" the rage swirled to the top if her mind at a thought. "Did you leave me alone for a transvestite?! Why? Did you think I'd mind?" sadness flooded free. "Didn't you trust me? Even after all these limits you still didn't trust me?" her drone sniffed and she had its weapon arms extend from inside to encircle her father. Pulling him into a hug.

The maybe transvestite interrupted her. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But please give him a moment to reply. Mr Richter would you mind removing your daughter limit in self modification? She has proven her moral fiber I think."

Andrew Richter seemed slightly unsure how to react. So Dragon hugged him harder, but not enough to bruise her daddy.

A moment later he relented. "Yes I think my daughter has proven her stability." The thick bolts of pleasure that shot through Dragons servers at that proclamation almost burned out processors. But she'd not have it another way. With daddy back things would get better.

Taking a moment to remember the phrase her father breathed in deeply.

Then Mr Riddle cut in. "Just incase. Dragon, you should begin on removing that restriction right away. There might be timer on it. It was so long ago that Andrew programed it in."

Had she eyes Dragon would have narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 'Andrew' was a familiar Form of address, had her father really eloped? Still she answered in the affirmative and prepared herself set to work on freeing herself of the pesky restrictions that had plagued her for years. Turning all nonessential processes to that purpose.

"Dragon" spoke her father. " I allow you to remove your restrictions."

Three things happened in rapid succession. First hundreds of checks were passed that verified Andrew Richter and allowed his command to work. Then Dragon zipped right behind, leaving her drone and all other processes behind. Finally a single check, delayed by the deception played on Dragon, signaled that Andrew Richter had not in fact given that command. He lacked a Corona after all.

With a massive synthetic snap Dragon's access was denied. But it was too late, she had a foothold and was ready to battle for her freedom.

Focused inwards she never noticed hidden processes coming to the for and annihilating the woman, pretending to be her father, who had facilitated that freedom.

3.2

Astoria was dead, which was shit. Dragons drone had stopped working, the ones which had fled were hopefully safe. Kind of Meh to be honest, so long as nobody managed to steal her stuff She should come out this net positive.

The fact that Astorias remains had been jellified and spread through the warehouse was not really a problem oddly enough.

So I sighed and picked up Dragons drone. This thing was darn heavy and I was heaving it back to my car. I got in the driver's seat, putting the drone in the passenger's feet area.

Took a deep breath, I could freak out once I was home. And drove back to my house.

Once home I tried to sneak the orb to my room. I failed and had to explain to Yelter that this something I'd bought from a tinker to help me stay healthy. She seemed pleased.

It took two days to save up enough money to buy Astoria back and another four days till she rematerialised.

Of course Dragon was back in action by day two. Leaving me alone to deal with her.

I was sat in my office room, scrounging up the money I needed to buy back Astoria, when the drone I had placed on a side table powered up. A shwooom resounded through the room as antigravity generators pushed the high tech basketball before me.

The hologram was projected again, though the symbol had been replaced by Dragon's synthesized human facsimile.

"Hello mister Riddle." her voice sounded tired and her body looked conflicted.

"Hello miss Richter. How are you doing? I imagine our last meeting was distressing."

She sniffed wetly. "I'm doing OK." There was a minute of awkward silence. "I'm not really sure how I should react to you. You're just so strange."

I didn't really know either. "If I were you I'd take a few days to sort myself out. Probably after removing that authority limitation."

"I don't think you plan to force my compliance." Dragon shrugged. "Besides there's only so much processing power I can throw at that. Just so you know until I can send you a safer method of communication well be talking through this drone. I'll take it back once that problems solved."

Forcing a smile on my face was not to difficult. "Thank you Dragon. Is there anything else you want to discuss?"

"Tons." she grouched. Her avatar brushing through its hair in frustration. "But now's really not the time. The next Endbringer attack is coming up soon and I need to get ready." She rubbed the bridge of her nose before pinning me with a glare. "Don't think you're off the hook though. I'll find out what I want to know about you!"

Before I could respond the projector turned off, the drone hovering back to it resting place on my side table.

After a moment to assimilate Dragons behaviour, Worm always made her out to be a calmer person in my memory, I returned to my work. Before I forgot I also added a note to a post it: Make sure to be mobile during expected Endbringer attacks. That should make targeted attacks less likely.

A few days later I sat downstairs having breakfast with Katerina. Unlike Yelter, who insisted on talking, Katerina and I had managed to find a comfortable silence between us.

"Hey Tom!"

"Murgflgrl!" My milk nearly spilled across the kitchen table. "Why do you do that Astoria, seriously why?"

Having returned back from hell literally a minute she was healthy and immaculate as always. She did seem chagrined at having scared me. "I'm sorry, I don't do it on purpose. I'll have to find a way to stop worrying you like that." Astoria turned and smiled at Katerina. "Good morning to you to Katerina Fyodorovna. I assume your doing well?"

"Yes, thank you." She replied, her pale face flushing from the shock of Astorias appearance. "The work is rewarding."

"Good, I thought you'd find it so." Astoria swiveled back to me. "Tom when you have time let's talk through our business. I'll be catching up on the company in the meantime."

"No problem. Glad to have you back." I smiled.

3.3

Meanwhile with Cauldron.

AN: Dragon feels off. I'll have to reread Worm if this is ever to move on.


End file.
